


Sweetwater Sweethearts?

by Climbergirlio



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Celebrity AU, Everyone ships bughead, F/F, F/M, I tried to make them Instagrams, It kinda failed, M/M, The internet ships Bughead, They're in a movie called Sweetwater
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-09-02 10:55:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 22,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20274754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Climbergirlio/pseuds/Climbergirlio
Summary: "Jughead Jones and Betty Cooper, stars of the highly anticipated Sweetwater movie were spotted looking cozy this weekend in a coffee shop," Veronica reads aloud.Betty raises a brow at her, “so what kind of second rate gossip mag did you find that in, V?”Jughead and Betty are actors who play love interests in their movie and EVERYONE is shipping them. Jughead and Betty just want to go out on a date without being hounded by paparazzi.**I made them Instagrams for this, but if the photos don't show up, try using the link in the notes**





	1. Chapter 1

“Jughead Jones and Betty Cooper, stars of the highly anticipated _ Sweetwater _ movie were spotted looking cozy this weekend in a coffee shop,” Veronica reads aloud, “Jones and Cooper star as the leading couple, Eleanora ‘Lane’ Thompson and Zachary Woods in the film adaption of the beloved book. As devoted _ Sweetwater _ fans know, Lane and Zach fall for one another while investigating the death of one of their classmates at the elite Sweetwater High. It seems like Cooper and Jones have taken the onscreen romance decidedly off. Or possibly it’s just wishful thinking,” Veronica finishes. 

Betty raises a brow at her, “so what kind of second rate gossip mag did you find that in, V?”

Veronica looks affronted, “I’m just saying, you’re _ terrible _ at hiding it. Terrible.”

“Reggie could write a better article than that.”

“I’m not going to disagree but that doesn’t change the fact that they’re not wrong,” Veronica argues.

Betty shrugs, “we have press all day tomorrow. We can put the rumors to rest then.”

Veronica rolls her eyes, “I still don’t get why you two have decided to keep this a secret. You play a couple in the movie. Frankly, you’d probably get good press.”

Betty rolls her eyes, “at the expense of us being photographed _ literally _everywhere we go.”

“I hate to break it to you, B, but that happens as it is.”

Betty shakes her head, “not to the same extent.”

Veronica rolls her eyes, “when I dated Nick, and thank god that’s over, it was only bad for like a month. Then people got bored.”

“Um, no offense V, but you weren’t as famous then. We are literally starring in the biggest movie of the year. People took some blurry photos of me and Jug in a coffee shop with you, Cheryl, Toni, and Kevin and decided it was a date.” 

Veronica squints at the picture, “man I didn’t even see myself.” 

“You’re there. We’re all there.” 

“Ohhhhh! I see me now! This was last week!”

Betty nods. 

“Still. You guys should just come clean. People love a good onscreen to real-life romance.”

“I’m sure they do. Cheryl thinks us just sort of teasing the idea of being a couple will get us enough good press though. And if you’re so into offscreen romance with your costar, how about you start dating Archie Andrews? I have it on good confidence that he’s going to be playing the Max to your Rebecca in _ The Shadows of Sweetwater. _”

“Mmmmm I just might. I don’t believe I’ve sampled a redhead.” 

“You’re impossible.”

~*~

One of the best things to come out of _ Sweetwater _ was Betty’s friendship with her co-stars and director. It made both filming and press events like today so much more fun. 

Today, it’s only her, Veronica, Kevin, and Jughead. As the four main characters, it made sense that they would be the first to do any press. For their first interview, Betty is seated next to Veronica on the couch, the boys behind them on stools. 

“Hello everyone, I have the cast of _ Sweetwater _ here with me today, and can I just say I’m beyond excited to see this movie?” The interviewer begins.

“You most certainly can, we’ve worked very hard on it,” Jughead quips. 

“So the trailer looks amazing. It seems like you guys really captured the essence of the book and everything that makes_ Sweetwater _ so compelling.”

“Yeah, that was really our main goal. Our director, Cheryl Blossom, tried to keep it as true to the book as possible,” Kevin explains.

“Well it seems like you’ve done it justice. Are there any scenes you can tease for us? Do we get the iconic rooftop scene with Lane and Zach?”

Betty looks back to where her boyfriend is seated on a stool behind her, “I think we can answer that, right?” 

He shrugs, “think so.”

Betty turns back towards the cameras, “well I can’t tell you for sure if it’s in the movie or not, since we haven’t seen the final product yet, but Jug and I did film on a rooftop.”

“And it was the worst scene ever to film,” Jughead adds.

“Really?” The interviewer asks.

Betty nods, “it was freezing cold because it was like two a.m. and I’m filming in just a bra and jeans.”

Jughead interjects, “And they kept yelling at her to stop shivering so we had to do like a thousand takes.”

“Meanwhile, everyone else was in coats!”

“Not me,” Jughead sasses.

“At least you had on a T-Shirt.” 

Veronica laughs at them, “they complained about it for like two weeks. But any other scene just wouldn’t have been as perfect.” 

Betty shakes her head, wishing she could look back on the memory of her character’s boyfriend confessing his love to her with something other than resentment. 

“Well that’s good to hear! Now Jughead, you have a lot of acting experience,” the interviewer starts.

“Yeah.”

“But Betty, Veronica, and Kevin, you are all relatively new to acting.”

Betty nods, “that’s true.”

“So how were you cast?”

Betty looks to her two friends, and seeing they aren’t speaking, begins, “well I acted on Flower Children when I was younger with Jughead, but for the past few years I’ve been pretty much exclusively modeling. I had just decided to get back into acting when Cheryl told me she wanted me to consider playing Lane. I loved the book, and Cheryl is my cousin so I said yes and now here we are.”

Veronica nods, “it really wasn’t that different for Kevin and I. Cheryl and Toni, Toni Topaz, for those of you who don’t know, approached me and asked if I would audition for Rebecca. They had a really clear vision of what they wanted this film to be and they were casting people they thought were similar to the book characters in both personality and physical appearance.”

Kevin expresses his agreement, “one of the things I thought was super cool was that they wanted to cast a gay actor to play Charles. I really appreciated them not straight-washing him and was honored to be able to take on such an influential LGBTQ role and really try to step into a position of being a role model to my community.”

The interviewer nods, “I think they did a great job. You all are exactly what I pictured when I read the book.”

“Well thanks,” Betty blushes. 

“So in the movie, your characters are all best friends. You all seem to have that kind of closeness.”

Veronica nods, “we spoke about how similar we are to our characters, and I really think that is part of the reason we are all so close. It’s almost like we were destined to be friends.” 

“Yeah. In fact, we all pretty much lived together while we were filming,” Kevin reveals.

Betty rolls her eyes, “he’s not kidding. I was renting a two bedroom house just off set and for whatever reason everyone just decided it was the designated hang out spot.”

“I spent more time at Betty’s house than my own,” Jughead confesses.

“I still have some of his stuff mixed in with mine.”

Kevin laughs, “we decided to just rent a big house and actually live together for the next movie.”

“So who’s paying for it?” The interviewer asks.

Everyone looks at each other, “well I paid the down payment,” Veronica admits, “but we’re all going to split the rent evenly.”

“Are you not worried about living together and working together as well?”

Kevin shrugs, “it’s a four bedroom house, so we will all have our own space. Jug and I will have to share a bathroom, but that shouldn’t be a huge issue.” 

“If one of you wants to move into the basement you wouldn’t have to share the bathroom,” Veronica points out. 

“I may be broody, but not that broody,” Jughead laughs. 

“Back to the movie, how would you describe the general plot to someone who hasn’t read the book?”

Everyone looks to Betty, so she gives it her best shot, “basically it’s about these four kids, Lane, Zach, Rebecca, and Charles. They all attend this elite semi-boarding school called Sweetwater.”

“And when she says semi-boarding school it means they are required to sleep at the school a minimum of three nights a week.”

“Yes, thanks Kev. Anyway, Lane, Rebecca, and Charles are all best friends when the movie starts, but when Lane decides to investigate the murder of her classmate Jacob, she asks her childhood friend Zach to help her.”

“And he’s a scholarship student so he’s a bit of an outsider.”

“That’s literally not relevant, Jug. _ Anyway _ while they investigate Jacob’s murder, Zach and Lane realize they have feelings for each other and start dating. A bunch of other things happen, then they solve the mystery of Jacob’s murder with the help of their friends.”

“That was a terrible summary,” Veronica laughs.

“Do it yourself then,” Betty grumbles. 

“_ I _think it was good, Betts,” Jughead claims loyally. 

“Awwww thanks Juggie.”

“We have a trailer for a reason,” Kevin adds.

“Jughead is the only one I like anymore,” Betty pouts.

“You can go find your own house I guess then,” Veronica teases. 

“You can go find your own movie I guess then,” Betty shoots back.

Behind her, she can hear Jughead trying to muffle his snicker. 

“Okay!” The interviewer moves on, “one last question, then I’ve got to let you go. How would you say you are most similar and most different from your character?”

“Well I’m most similar to Charles because I really struggled to find a boyfriend when I was younger. Unlike Charles, however, I simply hooked up with random guys to fill that need for companionship. Charles fills that void more effectively with Rebecca and Lane, leaning on them and their friendship.” 

“And you have us in real life too,” Veronica adds sweetly, spinning to pat him on the leg. 

“For me,” Veronica begins, transitioning smoothly back onto the topic, “I’m most similar to Rebecca in that I’m a bit of a party girl.”

Betty rolls her eyes, “that’s true. She always wants to go out clubbing. Thank god Kev is willing to go with her.”

Veronica shrugs, “what can I say? I like a good time. But how I’m most unlike Rebecca is our fashion sense. She tends to kind of mess around with what she wears. A lot of crop tops and ripped jeans. My go-to fashion items are probably a nice dress and pearls, so we differ in that way.”

“For me, the biggest way I relate to Lane is through her inquisitive nature and her protectiveness for the ones she loves. Our biggest difference is honestly her insecurity in her physical appearance. Being a model for the past like five years has really taught me to not care about what other people say about you. And I know that sounds crazy since the amount of scrutiny about physical appearance around models is pretty much as high as it gets, but I learned from a fairly young age to tune all that out.” 

“Good for you!” Veronica cheers. Betty laughs gratefully at her best friend. 

“I guess I’m the only one left, then,” Jughead frowns, “my biggest similarity to Zach is honestly how much I eat. Zach eats all the time and so do I. I ate all kinds of food to play him so that was pretty awesome because it was just like free snack time. Our biggest difference is our aspirations. Personally, I want to be a writer.”

“Really?!” The interviewer interrupts.

“Yeah. I was thinking maybe screenwriting or adapting novels for film. Maybe original books. Zach wants to become a detective.”

“His writing is sooooo good,” the praise slips from Betty’s mouth before she can stop it. They really aren’t doing a great job of hiding the fact that they’re dating today. 

“Wait, what? You’ve actually let her read your stuff?” Kevin asks. She wants to face palm. Kevin isn’t helping to hide the fact that they’re dating.

Jughead simply shrugs. 

“Well I guess that’s one more thing we have to look forward to!” The interviewer chirps, “make sure you all go see _ Sweetwater _and check out whatever it is that Jughead Jones is writing.”

All of them laugh, and the cameras shut off. They say their thank yous and wish the interviewer and other staff a good day before rushing off to their next engagement, a photo shoot. 

They have a fun time at the photo shoot, everyone posing goofily and cracking each other up the whole time. She and Jughead maintain a certain distance, and there is always at least one person between them. Usually Kevin. 

Once they finish the photo shoot, they have a couple more interviews. It’s more of the same, dull questions about _ Sweetwater _ that they somehow always manage to go down rabbit holes with. The interesting thing about making a movie based on a book is that everyone already knows what’s going to happen. They get asked a lot of questions about if a favorite moment will be in the movie and have to decide if they can answer that or not. They typically either simply just say yes or just give vague answers. 

Perhaps the most interesting question of the day is addressed to Veronica, and it’s a question about Archie Andrews.

“So Veronica,” the interviewer, a younger girl asks, “we’ve seen a lot of rumors about you and Archie Andrews lately after some photos surfaced of you leaving his house. Can you confirm or deny those rumors?”

Kevin and Betty wheel on her, “WHAT?!” They both exclaim at the same time. 

Veronica sighs, “I did a chemistry read with him for _ Sweetwater _ and when he learned that I could sing, invited me to audition for a place as a backup singer for his then-girlfriend’s band. I didn’t have any major projects and I thought it might be fun so I went down to his place to meet with the Pussycats. They are all New York based and he had a place out in L.A., which is where we were, so it made the most sense. The pictures are only surfacing now because he and Valerie broke up.” 

“Archie Andrews is going to be in _ Sweetwater _?” Kevin asks, “as in Archie Andrews from that football movie?”

Betty laughs, “I don’t believe it’s been confirmed one way or another.”

“Betty and I actually knew him from Flower Children,” Jughead informs the room generally, “he’s a good guy, V. Maybe you should date him.”

Veronica rolls her eyes, “honestly. The press can come up with some bogus story about me having a one night stand with Archie Andrews but can’t sniff out any of the real romances we have going on here.”

The interviewer raised her eyebrows, “I can’t help but ask if you’d like to elaborate on that.”

“Well I myself have a boyfriend,” Kevin says, “and we both think it’s hilarious because we literally hold hands in public and nobody starts any rumors about if we’re dating or not.”

“Exactly my point,” Veronica grumbles. 

“So who is it?” The interviewer asks.

“Joaquin De Santos. He’s not an actor, but he was a stunt double for a TV show I filmed for.”

“Does he do stunts for _ Sweetwater _?”

“No. At least he didn’t for the last movie. We hadn’t met then, though.”

“They’re suuuuuuch a cute couple,” Betty gushes, “I ship them so hard.”

“Same, girl,” Veronica agrees.

“Is he going to move in with us?” Betty asks.

Kevin blushes, “he has another project in the L.A. area, and we film in Vancouver, but I expect we will meet up as often as we are able.”

“Awww,” Veronica croons, “that’s literally so sweet. This is what I mean. Why speculate about my nonexistent relationship when Kev literally is one half of the second cutest couple ever?”

“Only second?” Kevin asks, mock offended.

Veronica looks right at him, “well you know who my first is, so.”

Kevin pretends to ponder that, “you’re not wrong.” 

“How come I don’t know who it is?” Betty asks.

“Because when I want to gossip, really truly gossip, I go to Kev.”

“Ouch. I thought we were best friends,” Betty laughs.

“We are, B, but Kev is _ also _ my best friend.” 

Betty pretends to be put out, “I guess that’s fair.” 

“You’re my best friend too Betty,” Kevin tells her earnestly. 

“Thanks Kev. Right back at ya.”

“Everyone is best friends with everyone,” Jughead interjects drily. 

“Well thanks so much for your time today, guys,” the interviewer closes, “check them out in _ Sweetwater _!”

They all wave at the cameras. 

Once the camera stops rolling, Betty stands and stretches. It’s been a long day and she’s ready for a nice dinner, preferably with her friends. It’s been a little bit since it’s been just the four of them, and as much as she loves Cheryl, Toni, Joaquin, and Reggie, she wants some time just the four of them. But first, she needs to change. Her heels are killing her and she doesn’t exactly want to run around in the same outfit she’s worn for interviews all day. 

“Do you want to go out for dinner?” Betty voices the question to the group.

“I’d love to,” Kev smiles, “but Joaquin and I actually have some plans. He came out here with me so I can’t just ditch him.”

Veronica frowns too, “I actually have an old friend who lives out in Imperial Beach who I am meeting up with, sorry B.”

Betty shakes her head, “don’t be. What about you, Jug?” She’s fairly certain her boyfriend doesn’t have any plans, but checking can’t hurt. 

“You know me. I’m not one to turn down food.” 

She smiles at him, “awesome. I have a friend who recommended this restaurant to me. It’s within walking distance of our hotel.” 

He nods, obviously conscious of their audience, “sounds good.”

“V, Kev, you wanna head back there with us? I assume you are both changing before heading out.”

“Yes, of course!” Veronica exclaims. 

They all gather their things, thanking the crew and making their way through hallways closed to the public to get to where their car was waiting. They had a panel tomorrow, and then a time where fans could get pictures with Betty, Kevin, and Veronica. Jughead had opted out, and instead was going to do an interview for another movie he had a small role in. He hadn’t been required to do press for it, but when the idea had been floated to him, he immediately accepted. Betty was glad he had gotten the opportunity, as she knew how much he hated to have to touch other people. He also hated being interviewed, but it was the lesser of the two evils.

The car ride to the hotel is mostly silent, Betty snuggled into Jughead’s side, and his arm around her. Veronica and Kevin are also slumped on one another, in a purely platonic way. It seemed as though the day’s events had gotten to them all. That was perhaps the best part about Betty’s friends, though. They could all just sit quietly, no need for talking. 

When the car pulls up to the hotel, there are only a few people outside. It’s something of a relief as Betty is not really in the mood for fans. At least, not until she gets changed into something more comfortable. It’s not even as though the fans are that bad yet. The movie hasn’t come out yet, but she still has a loyal following from her modeling and Jughead from a previous movie. It had been a fairly small indie film that had kind of exploded and got him nominated for an Oscar. Veronica had a decent fan following as well, even if it was significantly smaller than Betty it Jughead. She had been the self-proclaimed Princess of New York. At least, before her father had been arrested. Kevin came from a Broadway background, so he wasn’t a big star yet. 

Even still, they were all famous enough to get recognized and to have both paps and fans who would take their photos. Luckily, they exit the car and reach the elevator before anyone can even register them being there. Everyone goes to their own room to get changed, bidding one another a good night. 

In the comfort of her hotel room, Betty kicks off her heels and slips out of her dress. She showers quickly, blow drying most of the wetness from her hair before throwing it up in a neat ponytail. She then rummages through her suitcase, looking for something to wear. She settles on jeans and a nice T-Shirt, as well as a baseball cap. She steps into her white tennis shoes and then knocks on the door that connects her room to Jughead’s. He opens it almost immediately. 

“I’m starving,” he complains.

“Of course you are,” she grins, pecking him on the lips. 

He smiles at her in that soft way she knows is only for her and she melts a little inside, as she always does. He scoops her into a hug and they remain like that for a moment. He breaks the contact first, kissing her again. 

All too soon, she pulls back, “dinner first. Then we can cuddle all night long.” 

“A more agreeable proposition has never been made.”

She entwines their hands for the short distance to the door of his room, but drops it as soon as she opens it. No one is in the hall, but they can only be too careful. 

The walk to dinner is pleasant. No one stops to ask them for photos, but people probably have taken them. 

“This is it here,” Betty tells him, gesturing to a little Mexican restaurant. 

“After you,” he jokes, opening the door for her. 

“Why thank you,” she responds back, keeping the tone light. 

If the hostess knows who they are, she doesn’t say anything, just leads them to a table near the back at Betty’s request. The restaurant is dark, but once her eyes adjust, she’s actually grateful for the lack of light. Not being able to see the other people clearly almost makes it seem like she and Jug are here alone. 

“So what made you chose this place, Betts?” 

She looks up from the menu she’d been scanning, “Elle, one of my model friends, is from the area and recommended it. She says the Chipotle Chicken Salad is to die for. Apparently they have some house dressing that they put on it that’s really good.” 

He wrinkles his nose, “of course we came here because you wanted the salad.”

She laughs, “Elle also said that the burritos are good, so I figured you wouldn’t mind too much.”

He leans closer, “only because it’s you.” 

Her boyfriend is such a sap. “I’m honored,” she whispers back. 

“I think I’ll get a beef burrito,” he tells her, voice once more at normal volume. 

His decision is timely as the waitress walks up just as he finishes saying it. She clearly recognizes Betty, her eyes widen almost comically when she sees her, but she doesn’t say anything, instead just asking them both what they’d like to drink. Betty and Jughead are nothing if not efficient, so they order both drinks and their food. 

Once the waitress is gone, Betty leans forward and whispers conspiratorially, “you know, I’m glad Veronica and Kev couldn’t make it.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

~*~

The walk back to the hotel is a little less enjoyable. They get stopped by a young girl who wants a photo. Betty smoothly offers the girl to get a photo with her, and for Jughead to take it. She seems a little disappointed, but she doesn’t argue. 

Luckily, they are able to take the photo with the girl without raising anyone’s suspicions as to who they are, and make it back to the hotel elevator without any further incidents. 

“I’ve been thinking,” she tells him as the elevator begins ascending, “I want you to do a photo shoot of me.”

He quirks an eyebrow at her, “why?”

“Well I know you were wanting to try and take your photography professional, and I’m a model. It could jumpstart that process for you.” 

“Really?”

“Really.” 

“You know it’ll only add to the rumors that we’re a couple, right?”

She rolls her eyes, “of course I know that Juggie. But we ARE together. And besides, you would do it for me if our positions were reversed.” 

“Of course.”

“So let me do it for you.”

He smiles at her, “Okay.”

“Okay.”

They enter their rooms separately, and change into sleepwear. She readys herself for bed and throws on one of his shirts and a pit of sleep shorts before going through the still open door that connects her room to Jughead’s. He’s already in bed. When he sees her, he throws back the covers in invitation. She can’t help the giggle that bubbles out of her as she flounces happily to the bed. 

The moment she lays down, Jughead snakes his arm around her. She shifts so she’s facing him and pecks him on the lips, “hi.”

“Hi,” he breathes back. 

He moves to brush a stray hair from her face, “I’ve missed you.”

She’s been with him all day, but she knows what he means, “I’ve missed you too, Juggie.” 

“I feel like I haven’t seen you at all in the past month.”

Betty sighs, “I know. My mom kind of went crazy booking all those modeling gigs.”

“Have you thought about maybe hiring a different manager? You’re twenty two Betts, she shouldn’t control you anymore.” 

She sighs, “I have. I’m so done with my mom controlling me and always telling me I’m not good enough, but ultimately I know she only does it out of love. I'm just not sure I can leave her like that. Not after Polly.”

Jughead nods, “but remember, you still have to come first. She may not agree with your decision at first, but she’ll come around. She’s your mom.”

“I know. It’s just, living in that house with her, doing all those modeling gigs, having her practically force me into posting on my own Instagram…” 

“I know.”

Suddenly, Betty remembers something, “speaking of Instagram, we were supposed to post those pictures of us in character today. To build hype for our panel tomorrow or whatever.”

He groans, “you’re right.”

She begrudgingly slips out of the bed and wanders into her room, where her phone was plugged in. She selects the photo, adds a caption, and then posts it quickly. Wasting no time, she practically runs back into Jughead’s room and dives under the blankets again. He is still lying in bed, working on his own post. She scooches closer to him so she can see what he’s doing. 

“Cute,” she quips.

“Only ‘cause you’re in it,” he responds, “posted. Now we won’t have to worry about Cheryl being on the warpath.”

“Mmh. Good.” She snuggles closer to him. 

“Any other pressing matters?” 

“Not that I can think of.”

“Fantastic. Then I don’t plan on moving from this spot for another 8 hours.”

“Fine by me.”

~*~

Jughead’s alarm startles Betty awake at precisely 7 a.m. and she has to resist the urge to throw his phone across the room. Jughead groans and reaches blindly to silence it. Betty sits up groggily and blinks the sleep from her eyes. Jughead sinks back into the pillows. Her boyfriend is not what she would call a morning person. 

“Come on, Jug, you gotta get up.”

She doesn’t get a verbal response, but he rubs his eyes blearily. 

Satisfied that he’ll get up, Betty wanders into her own room. She pulls her phone off the plug and sees a message from Veronica. It’s a link. Betty clicks the link and is brought to an article. 

** _#Bughead? Hollywood’s Newest Onscreen Couple Might be an Offscreen Item_ **

_ Alanis Jeffery _

Betty sighs at Veronica’s obsession with gossip columns, but decides to read the article anyway. 

_ As the buzz surrounding the upcoming _ Sweetwater _ movie continues, all eyes are on the young stars, or two in particular. Elizabeth Cooper and Jughead Jones are starring as the movie’s lead couple, Lane Thompson and Zach Woods. Recently, there has been rumors surrounding the duo that suggest the two might have taken their onscreen romance off. _

_ Cooper and Jones have been publicly spotted together on many occasions, most recently last night when they strolled around San Diego together before grabbing dinner. Suspiciously absent were their two fellow cast mates, Veronica Lodge and Kevin Keller, who are also in San Diego for Comic Con. Could this have been a date? Normally, one dinner wouldn’t be enough for me to point the finger and say, “yes, they’re a couple,” but then they both took to Instagram. _

_ Jones and Cooper both posted photos with each other, in costume from a photo shoot they did together. Jones posted a photo with his hand on her waist captioning the photo, Lane and Zach are coming to a theatre near you! And tagging Betty Cooper. _

_ And before we discuss anything else, can I just say I’m obsessed with everything that’s going on in this photo? Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones are literally the Lane and Zach of my dreams. It gets better, however. Cooper also posted a photo to her own Instagram, and captioned it Lane and Zach are on the case. Cute! And the photo itself, I’m obsessed._

_ _

_ And if all this wasn’t enough, they posted these photos within a minute of each other. My guess? They were together while they posted them. _

_ Of course, none of this is concrete proof that they are, in fact, a couple. After all, Kevin Keller and Veronica Lodge also posted photos of themselves in costume to their own Instagrams. _

_ _

_ _

_ Can I just say I’m loving these looks? I know we saw them in the trailer already, but this photoshoot gives us our first clear look at the characters, not just the blink and you’ll miss it shots that accompanied Zach’s voice over. _

_ I’m sure we can all agree, even from that brief flash of Lane and Zach embracing in what seemed like the woods, that Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones certainly have chemistry. This photoshoot only proves it. Now, if they could just hurry up and confirm our suspicions, that would be great! _

Betty sighed. This article at least seemed more credible than the last one Ronnie had dragged up. Not that that was saying much. She opened back up her text conversation with Veronica and sent an unimpressed face. She’d deal with her best friend later. 

“Juggie!” She called to the other room, “you better be getting dressed!” 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m going,” he called back. 

~*~

Nearly two hours later, she’s sitting in a hall staring out at the hundreds of people who have gathered to see her and her cast mates talk about their movie. 

“Welcome,” the interviewer greets, “its great to have you all here.”

“It’s great to be here,” Kevin returns.

“Now, before we get started, I just have to ask, have all of you seen the trailer?”

“Yes,” they chorus. 

“Well we’re going to show it again, just to refresh your memories.”

“Fine by me,” Ronnie laughs, “I still have no idea what’s happening in it.” 

They all turn their attention to the screen behind them and the lights dim in the hall. 

A bell rings and the screen shows an impressive looking building that teenagers begin filing out of. 

“Sweetwater,” begins Jughead’s voice over as Zach, “a seemingly innocent hall of education.” The camera moves to zoom in on the students, who are laughing and talking together. “A place for boys and girls alike to receive an unquestionably superior education. One of the Ivy Leagues of high school.” The camera panned to classrooms with students, in uniform, taking notes religiously. There had been no shots of the main characters yet. “And all of this set in a picturesque little town with the same name.” The camera then fly over the town, showcasing all the major settings for the movie, the diner, the trailer park, the park, Lane’s house, and the movie theater, “a town where neighbor knew neighbor, and the most shocking thing to happen was the mayor’s affair with the sheriff.” A shot of the aforementioned couple in a newspaper. “But then…” Now, a shot of the same newspaper advertising a missing person - Jacob Bloom. Spinning into view above that comes the next newspaper, the headline reading _ Local Boy Found Dead With Gunshot Wound to Forehead. _

The tone of the trailer immediately changes, the pleasant music drops and becomes ominous. The screen turns to black. 

“Jacob’s murder, that was no accident. And until we find out _ why _he was murdered, for all we know, we could be next,” that’s Betty as Lane, her voice even more ominous because of the lack of images.

The screen flashes to Kevin as Charles, looking at something in horror, then back to black. Veronica as Rebecca is next, alone in a dark room, then the screen is once more black. Another flash, Betty as Lane screaming silently while being dragged by two men. Another flash of black, then Jughead as Zach pounding on a door. Black once more, then a brief image of Lane and Zach clinging to each other in the dark woods. The screen turns to black for the final time, then the same images of the school and the town are shown in reverse, but the lighting is now much darker. 

“Maybe the cracks were always there, and we just didn’t see it, or maybe Jacob’s death brought out the worst in Sweetwater,” a brief montage of Lane’s parents fighting, kids graffitiing the school at night, and arrests being made. “Regardless, Sweetwater wasn’t quite the innocent town we once knew.” The iconic diner-style login was then projected and the trailer ended.

“Wow,” the interviewer says, “I mean, wow. Honestly that trailer makes this movie look a whole lot scarier than I was expecting.”

“Yeah,” Veronica agrees, “I mean, we were all shocked when we saw it.”

“So this is the first trailer. Are we going to be seeing another one with more scenes?”

Betty nods, “definitely. This one is basically just a glorified version of our teaser trailer.” 

“Well even from just that one, I’m dying to watch this movie. And I’m sure you guys have heard this all too often lately, but you’re all completely perfect as these characters.”

“We get that a lot, yeah,” Kevin laughs.

“Can I just say, those photos you all posted last night...I’m in awe. Those are your character’s looks, correct?” 

“Yes. Or at least they’re their looks at the beginning of the movie before things really go to a bad place,” Betty informs the room in general.

“My character stops styling his hair like twenty minutes in,” Jughead adds.

“Only because Jughead was complaining about having his hair styled like that nonstop,” Veronica exposes.

“It’s not realistic that he has time to do his hair with all the shi-stuff that’s going down,” Jughead defends himself. 

“And he also is probably getting his hair messed up by Lane anyway at that point,” Kevin adds.

Veronica laughs, “true.”

Betty frowns at them, “we don’t even kiss that much.”

Veronica laughs disbelievingly at that, “you all have read the book right?” She asks towards the audience. There’s a loud cheer, “so they filmed almost every kiss scene between Lane and Zach that was in the book. And of course every scene took a minimum three takes.” 

“Well, as a loyal Zanie shipper, I must admit to being glad to hear that. And speaking of Zanie, can we talk about that hug in the trailer?”

“Sure,” Betty agrees, “what specifically about it?”

“So I think the assumption is that this is the scene where they find Jacob’s car.”

“That is the assumption, yeah,” Betty agrees cheekily. 

“I mean, with the rain and the forest, there is few other scenes it could be. I was hoping you could speak about what that scene meant for your characters.”

“Well, at least in the book, finding the car proved to Lane and Zach that they could actually do this, that they could find things the police couldn’t, and I think that gave them hope and also solidified their quest for answers,” Jughead explains.

“I agree,” Betty nods, “it also I think deepens their budding relationship, with the fact that they were possibly being followed to the car, it makes the other’s company a necessity purely for safety reasons.”

“I’d also like to add that that scene was a nightmare to film,” Jughead tells the audience, “Betty and I really suffered to bring you this movie.”

Betty laughs, “Jughead and I had to film like a lot of scenes at night in the freezing cold. That scene in particular we were soaking wet on top of everything else.” 

Kevin snorts, “those two are constantly complaining about their scenes.”

“You can’t talk. Like 90% of your scenes are in the school, diner, or Lane’s house. And you too, V.”

“Alright. I just have one more question for you guys before opening it up to the audience. In the books and the movie, all the characters have different nicknames for each other. Zach calls Lane Lanie, she in turn calls him Z. Rebecca sometimes goes by Becca, and Charles Charlie. What’s a nickname you have for a fellow cast mate that no one else calls them? We’ll just go down the line, starting with you Veronica.”

“Well, I call Betty B, which no one else does genuinely.”

“Ummmm I don’t know that I have nicknames for anyone that no one else uses. I call everyone by their name,” Kevin admits.

“I call Jughead Juggie, which no one else does, and Veronica V and Kevin Kev, though I guess Veronica calls him that too.”

“I call Betty Betts,” Jughead finishes. 

“Okay now we are opening it up to floor questions. Please state your name and question.”

“Hi, I’m Kayla and my question is for Betty and Jughead. What’s it like having to kiss someone on camera?”

Betty and Jughead share a look, a little embarrassed, “um kind of weird honestly,” Betty admits, “you’ll be kissing and then they’ll stop you and tell you to move your hands to one place or another or to use tongue or not, to angle your head a certain way, that kind of thing.”

“And there’s a camera in your face the whole time,” Jughead adds.

“Next question?”

“Hi I’m Sam and my question is for Veronica. You all mentioned how filming was cold most of the time and Rebecca wears mostly crop tops. Were you really really cold while filming?”

“Well, as my cast mates said, I mostly filmed indoors, but the few outdoor scenes I had, it was mostly nice out or Rebecca was dressed warm enough for me to not freeze to death.”

“Next question.”

“Hi I’m Hallie and my question is for all of you. Who is your favorite person to film with?” 

Betty swoops in, “I mean, we all love working together, and I think we can all say the best scenes were with all four of us.” There are nods all around. 

“One last question.”

“Hi I’m Tristan and my question is for Kevin. What did it mean for you to be given such an iconic LGBTQ role?”

“Honestly, I was so so honored and I tried my best to really bring Charles to life and portray his story in a meaningful way.” 

The interviewer closes up the panel and they all wave before exiting the stage. 

“Well that was fun,” Veronica says, some sarcasm laced into her voice. 

~Three weeks later~

Betty wakes up to her mother barging into her room. She groans and covers her face with her pillow, not in the mood for her mothers nagging.

“Get up Elizabeth, you have to finish packing your things and then you have a photoshoot for MAC.”

“Yeah, okay.” Sometimes it’s better to just not get into it. 

Betty throws herself out of bed and checks her phone. Another link from Veronica. Before she dares to look at it, she shoots Jughead a quick good morning text, knowing he’ll see it when he gets up. She then clicks the link from Veronica. 

** _Sweetwater Rundown_ **

** _Jessica Mather_ **

_ With the impending release of _ Sweetwater, _ fans have been searching the depths of the internet for any and all information related to the motion picture. Well look no further, Sweethearts, because I have taken the liberty of doing all that research for you and combining it into one article right here! _

_ Before we start with anything else, we have our Max for movie number two! Maxwell Michaels is being played by none other than Archie Andrews, as we all suspected long ago. He’s already been linked to Veronica Lodge a couple times, and though they are both denying the rumors that they may be an item, they have recently been caught leaving the other’s houses on more than one occasion. Andrews also already knows Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones from a TV show they all did when they were kids called Flower Children, which is currently on Netflix. _

_ Back to the current movie, a lot of what we know has come from the cast themselves who have taken to Instagram on more than one occasion to show off their character’s looks. Take a quick look below to refresh yourself before we begin the breakdown. _

_ Ahhhhhhh. Okay. So these photos in combination with our new trailer (!) have given us a lot of material. We got an adorable Zanie photoshoot AND scene (if you haven’t seen it, they’re in the forest and he’s comforting her and it’s adorable) and we have our first taste of Rebecca and Charles. They don’t appear much in the trailer, only in a brief scene where Lane tells them that they could be the next to die, and then another brief scene where Rebecca is at a party. What we do know, however is that both Rebecca and Charles is that they are pretty true to the book. The photoshoot with Charles in leather seems to be a one-off as he is in turtleneck sweaters in both the second photo and the trailer. _

_ And while we’re dissecting outfits, let’s talk about Lane and Rebecca. Both photos from Veronica, as well as the trailer are pretty consistent. It seems like our girl will be the queen of crop tops we know and love. Lane’s outfits aren’t quite as defined. The first photo Betty Cooper posted shows Lane in a tank top and skirt, well within what we’ve known the character to wear, and very similar to the outfit in the trailer. The second photo from Betty, however, shows Lane in a long sweater. My guess? This outfit comes from later in the movie when Lane needs a more practical outfit for sleuthing and the weather is colder. _

_ Moving on to Zach. His outfits are consistent with the book. A lot of leather jackets, and if not a button down. The photos so far are all from before Lane gives Zach the beanie, which disappoints me greatly, but what can you do? I’m living for seeing Jughead Jones in the Sweetwater uniform, but unfortunately we haven’t been given any scenes with the main characters in school uniforms yet. We do know from the trailer that the uniforms are PERFECT however. The dark blue is an unusual uniform color, and I was excited to see how well the costume department dealt with creating such clothes. _

_ And just a side note, Veronica also posted this incredible shot to her Instagram, and while at first I just gushed over the fabulous photograph itself, I started wondering if it was perhaps also related to the movie. We know that Rebecca has professional photos taken for all her yearbook shots, and I’m wondering if that’s perhaps what this may be. It’s unconventional, of course, but it does fit the mold for Rebecca. I suppose we will just have to wait and see though. In the meantime, you can hush over this amazing shot too. _

_ And while on the topic of Instagram, I think we have to discuss the photo shoot(s?) that Betty and Jughead did together. I mean, not only did they go out and do these photo shoots, but Jughead Jones is an extremely talented photographer and he is welcome to paint me like one of his French girls any time he likes._

_ _

_ _

_ I mean! Look at that! Can these two please just adopt me already? _

_ And while we’re on the topic of Bughead, the last order of business for my Sweetwater Rundown is addressing the rumors of couple status surrounding Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones. Obviously, I hope the rumors are true, but since neither of them have said anything, we all just have to sit here and stew and wonder. Since San Diego, they’ve been spotted together in public sans others exactly once. The two were grabbing a quick lunch at Deli Deli, where Betty has been known to frequent while in L.A. Paparazzi caught the two laughing and smiling the whole time, so even if they aren’t together, they seem to enjoy each other’s company. _

_ Of course, Veronica Lodge has been seen many times with Betty Cooper all across Hollywood, as well as in Vancouver where the movie was filmed and the cast will be returning to film the second movie in a matter of days. Personally, I am beyond excited for the content that this will bring. All our faves gathered in one house? Yes, please. _

The moment Betty finishes the article, she calls Veronica, “V, I don’t even know how you find these things.”

“I have my ways.”

“Is it true? Did you spend the night at Archie’s?”

“Only once.”

“V! Why didn’t you tell me!”

“Honestly because we’ve both been so busy lately. And I figured you would have seen.”

“You know the only time I read any celebrity gossip is when you send it to me.” 

“And I really don’t know why that is. You should at least read the articles they wrote about you, you know. If only so you know what people are think.”

“Why would I, when you do that for me?”

“Touché.”

“You ready to move in together?” Betty changes the subject.

“Totally. I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages. How’s Mama Cooper feeling about you living with your boyfriend?”

Betty sighs, “about as well as expected. She’s not thrilled about me having a boyfriend at all, to be honest, much less a serious boyfriend, and much less one I live with.”

“And what about me? Still opposed?” 

Betty sighs again, “yes, but I don’t care because you’re my best friend so she’s just going to have to deal.”

“Well that’s reassuring.”

“She’ll come around, though. If you’re not busy you can come over for dinner tonight. It might be good for her to meet you, I’m sure she’ll at the very least be slightly more friendly.” 

“I’ll have to see how much I get packed. Thanks for the offer though.”

“Okay well either way we need to catch up. I need to hear all the details about you and Archie!”

“There’s not much to tell, honestly. He had a party at his place, a fairly small gathering and I went to it, drank a little too much and we kissed a couple times. I ended up crashing in one of his guest rooms.” 

“Oh no. I can already tell you two are going to be that awkward couple who kisses and is physically involved and you both have feelings for the other but you both think the other doesn’t and it takes you wayyyyyy too long to officially become a couple.”

“That was...oddly specific. But don’t worry, it was only some light kissing. I’m sure nothing will come of it.”

Betty wants to face palm, “whatever you say, V.”

“I should probably actually start packing now. I’ll hopefully see you tonight.”

“Yup! Love you, bye.”

“Kisses.”

Betty hangs up her phone and then looks around her room with a deep sigh. She has some furniture in a storage unit up there already, along with some other things, so all she really needs to bring are clothes or anything else she won’t want to buy. She and Veronica are driving a moving truck out, so she could pack everything, but then she’d also have to _ unpack _ everything which really doesn’t sound appealing. 

Veronica had been staunchly against the idea of driving their own things out, but Betty had finally wore her down with the promises that it would be a fun girls trip for them. Veronica had insisted on getting movers to load and unload her things, and insisted upon the truck being split into thirds, two for her things and one for Betty’s. Betty had agreed simply because Veronica had way more stuff than she did. Plus, Veronica even agreeing to drive up to Vancouver was a testament of her love for Betty and Betty wasn’t going to push it. 

They had planned four to six days for the drive, but they were flexible. If they got there sooner, it would be fine, and if they wanted to stop and see the sights, they could do that too. It was going to be a grand adventure. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sweetwater Secrets, the sequel to Sweetwater has officially started filming, and with the new movie comes a new character. The press can't get enough of the couples, onscreen and off, as a few new rumors of romance fill the front pages. 
> 
> Meanwhile, everyone is still quietly shipping Bughead, in the papers or not.

Betty flops down on the couch in the living room. She had just finished unpacking all her things, so the rest was well-deserved. Jughead, ever the thoughtful boyfriend, comes in with a strawberry Daiquiri, which she accepts thankfully and begins sipping at immediately. It’s not very strong, but that’s probably for the best as they have a table read tomorrow. 

“That’s the only one you’re getting,” Jughead warns. 

“I know,” she sighs deeply. 

She’s only a couple sips in when Veronica bursts through the door, Archie Andrews in tow. “Hey guys! I invited Archie over, hope you don’t mind. Archie, this is Betty and Jughead, and Kevin is probably upstairs in his room.”

“Archie and I were actually neighbors for a spell,” Betty informs Veronica, “well as close to being neighbors as you get in Hollywood.”

“And we all did Flower Children together,” Jughead’s reminds her.

“It’s still nice to see you both again.”

Betty sets down her drink and greets him with a brief hug, “welcome to the Sweetwater family.” 

“Indeed!” Veronica chirps, “sit on down. I’ll make us some drinks!” 

Archie sits on one of their armchairs while Betty goes back to lounging on the couch with her feet on Jughead’s lap. Veronica returns from the kitchen with drinks, which she offers to both Jughead and Archie. Archie accepts his readily, but Jughead’s politely declines. He doesn’t really like alcohol on account of his dad having been in and out of rehab for most of his childhood. Kevin comes down the stairs at that precise moment, though, and he takes the extra drink and a seat on the loveseat next to Veronica. Veronica promptly rests her head on his shoulder.

“So how long have you guys been up here?” Archie asks.

Veronica gives a sigh of suffering, “Betty and I _ drove _ up, so we only got in like three days ago.”

“Jughead and I caught the same flight up. We got here two days ago.” 

“They showed me the first movie. You guys were all amazing.”

“Why thank you Archiekins. We couldn’t set the bar too low though. Wouldn’t want you to get too big of an ego.”

“Seriously, though, guys. That was an incredible movie. Are you allowed to fanboy over a movie you’re going to be in?”

“I think so,” Kevin says, “I mean, I was freaking out over it and I’m in it.”

“That scene where you two were on the rooftop was beautiful. Him telling her he loved her, her saying it back. The clothes coming off. I wanted to throw a book at that unseen stranger who opened the access door,” Archie gushes.

“Who would’ve thought Archie Andrews was a romantic?” Jughead asks teasingly. 

Veronica giggles, “I felt the same way. They both hate it.”

Betty rolls her eyes, “people are like ‘awwwwww it’s so romantic, they’re on a rooftop under the stars.’ What they don’t know is that it was _ freezing _ cold.” 

Kevin responds with an eye roll of his own, “you two are so dramatic.”

“You guys filmed inside the majority of the movie. Jughead and I were filming in Canada in the winter.”

“Like Kevin said, they’re dramatic. They only actually filmed a few scenes in the snow.”

“There doesn’t need to be snow for it to be cold,” Jughead reminds her.

“Whatever. Moving on. Are you all excited for the table read tomorrow?” Veronica asks.

“Yes. I’m ready to start acting again. All the photo shoots were starting to get tiring.”

“Oh no. All these companies want to pay me because they think I’m beautiful and young and and can sell their products. Whatever will I do?” Veronica mocks.

“I just missed all of you,” Betty admits, “and of course I’m excited to be working with you again, Archie.”

“Well, that’s nice to hear. I’ll admit, I was a bit nervous to be signing on to a project where the stars were all already so clearly close, but you all have been very welcoming.”

“I actually was going to offer you to move in with us. We have room in the basement, or you can take Jughead’s room,” Veronica offers.

“Hey!” Jughead complains.

“We would move you into Betty’s room,” Veronica waves him off.

“Thanks for the offer, Ronnie, truly, but I already have a lease on the apartment I’m living in.”

Veronica nods, “fair enough. But our door is always open.”

“Yeah. These guys can’t complain because they crashed my place all the time last year,” Betty laughs.

“I know. I’ve seen most of the interviews you all have done.” 

Kevin’s phone starts ringing. He looks at the caller ID, “it’s Joaquin. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

“Bye lover boy,” Veronica teases gently. 

Kevin makes a sarcastic face in her direction, then turns and heads for the stairs, greeting Joaquin with a, “hey, babe,” as he answers the call.

Betty gives a tired sigh, “I might actually head up to bed. Sorry to be such a killjoy of a host, Archie.” 

“No you’re fine. I won’t impose on you all for too much longer. Ronnie just wanted me to meet you all before the table read tomorrow.”

“Smart,” Jughead compliments. 

She rises off her spot on the couch and brings her glass to the kitchen. She washes it out and then puts it on the drying rack before returning to the living room and blowing Veronica a kiss goodnight. 

“I’ll come up as well,” Jughead volunteers, “goodnight, Veronica, Archie. See you tomorrow.”

“I wonder just how early tomorrow we will be seeing Archie,” Betty whispers conspiratorially in Jughead’s ear as they move up the steps.

Jughead glances back casually to where Veronica and Archie are still in the living room, “that’s the question, isn’t it?”

“Indeed.”

They part ways at the top of the stairs, Jughead headed to his room on the left, Betty to hers on the right. She gets ready for bed at a leisurely pace, going through her whole routine of face creams as well as putting on other lotions on the rest of her body since it’s still fairly early. When she emerges from her bathroom, Jughead is already lounging on her bed. He gives her an easy smile, which she returns happily and makes her way to the dresser. She strips off her clothes under her boyfriend’s watchful gaze, and rolls her eyes at him in the mirror. She pulls on her latest of a rotating cycle of shirts she likes to steal from him to sleep in and discards her other clothes in the hamper by her door. Then, she stalks over to the bed and climbs on top of Jughead, kissing him. 

Somehow, they end up laying down in the tangled mess of sheets and Betty can’t help the little giggle that escapes. She had missed him. Rather, she missed ending all her days like this, carefree and happy. Completely and utterly happy. 

“You’re beautiful Betty Cooper,” Jughead whispers, lips pressed against her forehead so she can feel the words as he speaks them.

She moves back just a bit so she can look into his eyes, “you think so?”

He nods, “inside and out.”

She smiles, “so are you.”

“I love you,” he breathes.

“And I love you,” she returns. 

“I’ve missed this,” he admits.

“Me too.”

“Next time we are on break, let’s get a house, just the two of us. No parents looking over our shoulders, just the two of us.”

“That sounds fantastic, Juggie. I’d like nothing more.”

“Really?”

“Really. My favorite place to sleep is in your arms.” His shy smile is all the invitation she needs to snuggle closer, “I love you.”

He reaches over and turns off the lamp, then straightens out the covers enough so they are reasonably covered, “goodnight, Betts. I love you.”

“Night,” she mutters back. 

~*~

Betty wakes up first, as per usual, and slips out of Jughead’s grasp. She runs her fingers through her hair briefly before deciding it’s a case only a good shower is going to fix. The shower can wait until after breakfast, though. She slips from the room quietly, careful not to wake Jughead and makes her way down the stairs. Veronica and Kevin are already at the table, eating pancakes.

“Who made the pancakes?” Betty asks.

“Kevin,” Veronica responds, not looking up.

“They’re from a box,” Kevin says by way of explanation. 

She nods, “good enough, I suppose,” and takes a seat at the table.

Veronica gives her a smile, already sipping on a cocktail. Her facial expression changes the moment she sees her though, “is that Jughead’s shirt?”

“Um, yes,” Betty says, confused.

“Why are you wearing it?” Veronica asks.

Betty raises a brow at her, “because his shirts are soft and I like to sleep in them.” 

“They are really too cute and domestic,” Kevin sighs, “honestly. Now they share clothes.”

“So you’re wearing his shirt because you stole it from him to wear as a sleepshirt, and not because you two had sex last night?” Veronica asks.

Betty chokes on the bit of pancake she has been chewing, “yes, Ronnie,” she coughs out. “Is that so hard to believe?”

Kevin looks her up and down, “I mean, your hair is pretty messed up.”

Betty throws her hands up, “I don’t know why you guys need to make this your business. I kind of think what Jughead and I do and don’t do in bed should remain strictly between us.”

“But you two have done it, right?” Kevin asks.

“I am done with this conversation now.”

“That’s a yes,” Veronica tells Kevin.

“I said I was done,” Betty warns.

“I bet they did the whole like rose petal thing their first time,” Kevin adds.

Betty shovels the last bits of pancake into her mouth and pushes her chair back from the table, “I said I was done.”

“C’mon B, we’re your best friends,” Veronica pleads.

“We deserve all the juicy details,” Kevin whines.

“You know, we should really be questioning Veronica right now on Archie.”

It’s exactly the right thing to say, “that’s true. What is up with you and the redhead hottie?” Kevin asks.

Veronica seems only too willing to share, “we’re just friends.”

Kevin sighs deeply, “oh heteros and their overdone relationship drama.”

“He didn’t spend the night then?” Betty asks, her teasing just a little bit less light than normal.

“No. It’s like I said, we’re just friends. I mean sure, we kissed a couple times, but we both agreed to keep things super casual.”

“But you like him, don’t you?” Betty asks.

Veronica shakes her head contemplatively, “I think I might be beginning to.”

“Look at you go girl! Soon I’m going to be living with two couples,” Kevin groans the last part. 

“Hey, you’ve got Joaquin. Plus you know we’d never ditch you,” Betty consoles.

“That’s right, and anyways, it’s just a small crush. I doubt Archie and I will ever be anything but two people who once acted in the same movie.”

“Famous last words,” Betty warns.

~*~

*The Night of the Premiere*

Betty stepped out of the limo with as much grace as she could muster, and lets the train of her dress fly out behind her. This was her first movie premiere so she wasn’t quite sure what to expect. The masses of photographers and people was pretty much in line with what she would have thought though.She makes her way quickly to where Veronica is posing. 

“B!” Veronica shouts happily and throws her arms around her for a hug, cameras clicking away as she does so. They pause for a moment so the photographers can get some shots

Bettty laughs lightly and returns the gesture, “this is crazy,” she whispers.

“I know.”

“BETTY!” calls a random person with a camera, “RIGHT HERE BETTY!”

She turns to where the majority of the cameras are and gives them a brilliant smile. The calling and flashing is a lot. Almost too much. Her only consolation is that Veronica is a mere three feet away and will come to her aide should she need her. Then, she sees him. Jughead steps out onto the sidewalk with a grace that reminds her that, yeah, she really is dating a movie star. She knows he hates people taking his picture, especially the paparazzi, but there’s a reason he’s an actor. He smiles a smile she can recognize as a fake, but she doubts anyone else will. He makes his way slowly to where she and Veronica are, stopping to pose for the many photographers as he goes. 

“Hey,” he greets when he finally gets within hearing distance. 

Veronica gives him a blinding smile, but she is whisked off to speak to a reporter. 

“BETTY! JUGHEAD! OVER HERE!”  
“BETTY, JUGHEAD COULD WE GET ONE OF YOU TWO TOGETHER?!”  
“TOGETHER!”

“BETTY! COULD YOU POSE WITH YOUR BOYFRIEND?!” 

Betty doesn’t acknowledge that she’s heard any of them, instead striking a few poses before going to stand next to Jughead. He places his hand lightly on her waist, and they both give the camera a smile. They don’t stand together for too long before splitting again and getting their photos taken separately. Betty sees Cheryl and Toni just ahead of her on the carpet and makes her way towards them. They’re doing all sorts of cute couple shots, Toni rising to press a kiss to Cheryl’s cheek and their arms wrapped around each other. It’s sickeningly cute. Kevin is just a bit further down with Joaquin as well. 

“Cousin!” Cheryl exclaims, slipping out from Toni’s arm, “come! We need a photo together!”

Betty smiles at her, “I’d be honored.”

They put their arms around each other’s shoulders and grin at the cameras. 

“That should dispel that nasty rumor that we are actually enemies.”

“That’s a rumor?”

“Oh my god. Veronica was right, you really don’t read the gossip mags.”

“I do read them, but only when she forces me.”

“Even I can admit it’s sometimes helpful to know what people are saying about you. Helps you to make decisions about what you need to be doing and to stop rumors before they get too far out of hand,” Toni tells her. 

“That’s what my publicist is for.”

“Your publicist is there, sure, but it doesn’t hurt to be on top of the news itself. Plus, I like taking matters into my own hands.”

Betty resists the urge to laugh. She knows that about Cheryl. 

Before they can really dive into the conversation, Cheryl and Toni are called by some more photographers and they head off to take some more photos. Betty continues her solo walk down the carpet, conscious of Jughead only a few feet away. She forces herself not to look at him and instead catches up with Kevin to get one quick photo with him before they all head inside for the premiere. 

“Seems weird that we’re in a movie,” Kevin tells her as they step inside, “like, I know we acted in it and I’ve seen it, but it’s really real. People are going to be watching us in movie theaters. And they’ll be able to buy it on DVD or watch us on Netflix. It’s surreal.”

“It is a bit,” she admits. 

“I don’t think so. I think we were all fantastic,” Cheryl tells them, coming up from out of nowhere.

“You were fantastic, Cher. You were amazing as Jacobs child bride/adopted sister _ and _ as director. Talk about a double threat,” Toni compliments.

“Awwwwww. Thanks babe. I can’t wait until you get to play my girlfriend. I think we film our first scene next week.”

“The power couple makes their movie debut,” comes Reggie’s voice. 

“Hey, Reg. I didn’t see you out there,” Betty greets.

“Figures. It’s a madhouse out there.”

“No kidding,” comes another new voice.

“JB!” Betty exclaims happily, wrapping the younger girl in a hug. She doesn’t have to be as careful in here. There are still people with cameras, but no one is taking video (as far as she knows, anyway) and there are far fewer of them. Plus, it’s not unreasonable that she knows her co-star’s sister, after all, she knows Joaquin and Joaquin’s brother. 

“I’m so glad I got to see you. I was hoping you would sit by me for the movie. Jughead is a bore. All he does is criticize his own acting. He’s a great actor and everyone knows it. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gotten nominated for the Oscars. Not that I’m complaining, because that was amazingly cool.”

“Are you coming up to visit us soon, JB?” Veronica asks.

“I don’t know. Ask him,” she points accusingly at Jughead.

Jughead puts his hands up in a gesture of innocence, “I already asked Dad if it was okay, but he didn’t really give me an answer. It’s him you’ve gotta convince.”

Jellybean rolls her eyes, “he’s such a stick in the mud. All I want is Betty’s cooking. I know why you all wanted to move in with her. I had her waffles once when Jughead dumped me on her because he was filming, and I thought I was in heaven. Between my dad and Jug, we’re lucky that our house hasn’t burned down,” Jellybean confides in them, “once my dad actually burned a microwave meal. I didn’t even know microwaves could burn things.”

Betty frowns at that, “I don’t think they can?”  
“I rest my case.”

“Hey slowpokes!” Cheryl yells, “the movie isn’t going to wait for you just because you’re the stars!”

Betty raises her brows, “shall we?”  
Veronica takes her arm, “we shall.”

~*~

Betty is crashing at Veronica’s place after the premiere. Her place is both the closest and also has a distinct lack of Alice Cooper. She really should be past living with her mother now, but before _ Sweetwater _, she hadn’t even imagined getting a place for herself, nor did she really have access to the money. And her mom owned two pretty big houses. It’s not like she was always right there. Now, it simply makes the most sense to just crash her mom’s house when they’re not filming, and she knows the rest of her friends so the same. None of them want to buy a place to live that they’ll only be in a quarter of the year. She’s gotten a lot more independent since starting on the movie, though, and confident enough to actually start fighting her mother for some of the things she wants. She’s started to push back on doing all the things Alice Cooper has decided are appropriate and will help her career and has started looking at what she wants to do. What she really wants to do.

She knows a lot of this newfound confidence comes from her best friend, which is the only reason she keeps putting up with all the gossip Veronica has been going on about all night. 

“B! It’s an article!” Veronica chirps excitedly.

Betty sighs, “send it to me.”

Her phone dings before she can even finish saying the words. To be honest, her best friend’s obsession with gossip magazines is a little concerning. 

** _Sweetwater Sweethearts?_ **

_ By Brista Gavins _

_ It’s finally here! Sweetwater had it’s L.A. premiere tonight and fans, including myself, could not be more thrilled. For the first reviews of the movie, check out my other article _ _ here _ _ for the rundown on the premiere itself, stay right here! _

_ First off, can I please get a job on this movie? Not only because I love it and I love the cast but because everyone on this movie is hooking up with their co-stars. Can we get a petition to rename the sequel Sweetwater Sweethearts? I mean, we have Cheryl Blossom and Toni Topaz, who aren’t technically co-stars yet, but it’s rumored that Toni will play Charlotte’s girlfriend Victoria in the sequel and the two met through the movie and started dating like a day after they met. Next, we got Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones. The two haven’t confirmed their relationship status yet, but they’ve been followed by romance rumors since they were spotted together in San Diego and have only fueled the rumors since then. Plus, they were photographed together before the premiere tonight, and though they both technically had other dates (Jughead his younger sister Jellybean, and Betty her mother and manger, Alice Cooper) they certainly looked like an item. I mean, look at them. _

_ Aside from taking these photos, though, they didn’t really interact, so maybe we are just reading too much into it. _

_As a side note, I am IN LOVE with Betty's dress. Honestly, she was looking like a goddess and all of those hater out there who have said it was too much for a movie premiere are just jealous because WOW. I mean, she was stunning. I am obsessed with the whole look._

_ _

_Back to the topic at hand and continuing with ALL the couples on this movie, we have Veronica Lodge and Archie Andrews. They have also sparked romance rumors since Veronica has been spotted coming and going from his house on more than one occasion. Archie did not attend the premiere as he was not in the first movie, but Veronica spoke about him briefly, saying he was, “a great actor and person generally.” _

_ And that brings us to our fourth rumored couple. Yep, that’s right. FOURTH. Reggie Mantle and Josie McCoy. You’ll recognize them in the movie as the quarterback/football captain and musical it girl respectively. Their characters don’t date in the movie or the book, but they enjoyed a somewhat flirtatious relationship. Josie and Reggie seem to have taken that a step further in real life, however. The two posed for photos together and looked undeniably cute, Josie even had her hand on his chest. _

_ We also, of course, saw Kevin Keller and his boyfriend Joaquin DeSantos, and I’m including them in the list of Sweetwater Sweethearts because Kevin is in the movie. Seriously, is there a single person on this film? Just one? Can I please sign on just so I can find a boyfriend too? _

Veronica is eagerly staring at her, waiting for a reaction, “well?”

“Well what? I am actually dating Jughead, you’re doing whatever you’re doing with Archie, Cheryl and Toni haven’t exactly been hiding their relationship and in fact make out in public all the time, Josie and Reggie are a couple, and Kevin literally said he was dating Joaquin in an interview to cover for me when you tried to expose me.”

“Come on! Can’t you just give the people what they want?”

“Jug and I like keeping our relationship a secret. It’s more special because it’s just between us and our very close friends.”

Veronica sighs, “I still don’t agree, but you know I’ll support you no matter what.”

“Thanks, V.”

“Now! We need to talk about Zendaya and Tom Holland! I know he was spotted with that older chick, but I personally believe it was all just a ruse and that Tomdaya is endgame. After all, I can see you and Jughead cooking up a scheme just like that.”

Betty sighs, “whatever you say.”

“I mean, come on! They have to be dating! Have to be!” 

Betty just shakes her head fondly at her best friend as she continues speculating about all the celebrity couples and what’s really going on. It’s nice for it to just be the two of them for girls night. The boys are important to her, of course, but it is nice to have uninterrupted girl time every once in a while. Plus, Veronica had confided in her one time that she really didn’t like staying in her parent’s house alone. That was why she usually stayed in one of the nicer apartments her mom owned in L.A. when they weren’t filming. She had only decided to stay here because it was closer and she needed to check up on it, but when she invited Betty, Betty obviously agreed to spend the night. She got to avoid her mom and do her bestie a solid, what wasn’t to like? 

Veronica pauses her rant to let out a yawn, “you want to retire for the night?” 

Betty smirks, “don’t say it like that, someone might take it the wrong way.”

“My dear, _ is _ there a wrong way to take that?” Veronica asks with a wink.

Betty dissolves into giggles, “don’t let Jughead hear you saying that.”

“Oh, please, he could use some competition. Maybe it would spice up your relationship a little. The walls aren’t so thick that I can’t hear what’s happening, or rather, not happening in your room every night.”

Betty blushes, “we have done it before, you know.”

Veronica raises a brow, “I wasn’t asking, precisely, but pray tell. Veronica Lodge loves to know _ all _ the details.”

Betty shrugs, a little embarrassed, “neither of us are the kind of people that need that aspect of a relationship all the time.”

Veronica looks like she thinks there’s more to the story.

“I’m not saying it’s bad, in fact, it’s pretty great, but when there’s other people in the rooms next door we prefer just to cuddle. And we’re usually tired from filing or whatever else we’ve done that day anyways.”

Veronica shrugs, “fair enough. All relationships are different and as long as it works for you two then that’s all that matters.”

Betty smiles, “Thanks for saying that Ronnie.”

“I’m not just saying it, you know. I mean it.”

“I know.”

“You ready for bed now, though?” Veronica waggles her eyebrows.

Betty dissolves into giggles and follows her friend up the stairs.

~*~

*Probably like two weeks later*

Betty collapsed on the couch wearily.

“Hard day of filming?” Veronica asks. 

“I had to do my pole dance scene,” Betty groans. 

“Did you film the fight too?” 

“Yeah. We filmed that earlier today. That’s why Jug got back earlier than me.”

Kevin gives her a look, “he didn’t stick around to see your pole dancing?”

Betty laughs, “he watched the first like ten then I sent him home.”

Archie comes into the room, “I’ve got drinks!” 

“Thanks,” Veronica says, accepting the drink readily. Archie sits down next to her after distributing drinks to both Veronica and Kevin, snaking a hand around her waist. They officially were dating now. 

“So what were you guys talking about?”

“Betty had to film her pole dancing scene today,” Veronica tells him.

“Ahhhh. I hated that part of the book so much. I didn’t like them being broken up,” Kevin moans.

“Don’t worry. We are only broken up for like five minutes before I get that finger sent to me and I catch the fakeblack hood and call him.”

“So none of the sad storyline where they send each other Christmas presents?”

“Nope. They had to leave some parts out. They also kind of leave out that little bit that I investigated with Max and Rebecca.” 

“So how do you get back together then?” Archie asks.

“It’s almost the same as in the book. Charles and Rebecca come over and she refuses to tell him, so Rebecca goes to the police and Charles and Lane go find that guy, and they do that whole thing, but the moment it’s over, Rebecca calls Zach in to comfort Lane. Then they get back together right there, instead of after the statue. They also leave out that whole dead person in Lane’s house thing, thank god.”

Archie nods, “I haven’t read the whole script yet.” 

Kevin raises a brow in judgement, “I did that ages ago. The first day they gave us the full script I stayed up all night reading it.”

Jughead enters the room just then, hair wet from a shower, “hey, Betts. Finished?”

She nods and leans off the couch a little to capture his lips with her own. He then sinks down next to her and wraps an arm around her. She snuggles into his side contentedly, inhaling his shampoo. She would have stayed happily like that forever, but Archie his giving them the weirdest look.

“Something wrong, Arch?” Betty asks.

“Did you just...kiss?”

Everyone turns to stare at Archie. “Um...yeah. Last time I checked, that was something couples do,” Betty says when it become apparent no one else is going to speak.

“You’re dating?!?”

“For over a year now, Arch. Where have you been?” Jughead informs him.

“Dude. It’s been all over the press,” Kevin tells him. 

“I figured it was just more of their lies and exaggerations,” Archie shrugs.

“I literally call him my boyfriend like all the time,” Betty points out.

“I figured it had to do with the movie, you know, almost like a nickname.”

“I offered you to move into Jughead’s room and told you he’d move in with Betty,” Veronica adds.

“I thought that she was going to room with you!” Archie says miserably.

Betty bursts out laughing, “you’ve known us for a good while now, _ how _are you only just now finding out?”

“Archie, man, I knew you weren’t the brightest but this is a new level,” Kevin tells him.

“Hey!” Archie says, affronted. 

“Archiekins, even I have to admit you not knowing about Bughead is tragic. Like, really tragic.”

“But thanks so much. When we come out to the press this is going to be a fantastic story to tell. Oh, don’t feel bad that you didn’t know, even Archie didn’t know and he was practically living with us.”

Veronica laughs, “don’t feel too bad. Kevin and I only found out when we were chilling in the lounge together after a take and he put his arm around her to comfort her because she thought she did a bad job.”

Betty shrugs, “we’d already been dating for a week at that point.” 

“I think the only people we actually came out and told were our parents when we came back home from filming,” Jughead adds. 

Betty shivers, “a moment I don’t want to relive.”

Veronica and Jughead shiver sympathetically, being familiar with Alice Cooper. 

Kevin looks pleased, “I don’t know what you all are always going on about. Mrs. Cooper loves me.”

Betty shakes her head in wonder, “and I still can’t figure out how you managed that.”

“I have my ways,” Kevin says mysteriously. 

“Well Archie finding out about Betty and Jughead is going to make my proposition a little less odd. My family owns a lake house out in Maine, and seeing as they currently have no use for it, being in jail, I wanted to propose a couples trip to the cabin over our winter filming break. I thought we could just do a week or so, maybe the 27th of December to like January 3rd?” Veronica asks. 

“That sounds heavenly, V. I imagine I’ll need all the break I can get, Polly is coming home with her fiancé and the twins, and my half-brother is going to be over with his wife. It’s going to be insane.”

“You can count me in too. I don’t have any plans,” Archie tells her.

“I’m in as well,” Jughead announces, “anything to get away from my mother.”

Betty gives him a concerned look, knowing about how he hates his mom because of her abandoning him as a child and only recently coming back into her son’s life after he had achieved success and the money that came with it. She was constantly trying to steal from him, but his dad didn’t know and Jughead was reluctant to tell him that his wife didn’t really come back because she wanted to fix their marriage. But it’s not really a topic to bring up in front of their friends, so she keeps silent, vowing to talk to him tonight. 

“What about you Kev? And Joaquin, of course,” Veronica asks.

“I don’t think so, unfortunately. We’re doing Christmas with my dad and then New Years with his family.” 

“Well, should your plans change, the offer still stands. I still need to ask Cheryl and Toni, too.”

“Don’t bother,” Betty tells her, “they’re headed off to the Bahamas for the entirety of our filming break. I helped them with the planning.” 

“Well just us four, then,” Veronica says, showing no signs of defeat. 

“Just us four,” Betty agrees.

Veronica claps her hand giddily, “oh I’m so excited! In fact, let’s start looking at flights now!”

Jughead groans, “it’s still a ways off.”

Betty grins, and slaps him lightly, “leave your negativity out of our romantic getaway planning.”

“Whatever you say, milady,” Jughead flirts.

She kisses him on the cheek and then follows Veronica to the computer, where she has already begun searching flights.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little Bughead Christmas fluff to hold you over until the cabin!

**In this story, Charles is actually Charles, and not Chic the random creepy dude.**

Betty sighs deeply as she hears the doorbell ring and rises off her bed. That should be Polly and her family, which means the real hectic part of the holiday is starting. She checks her reflection in the mirror, and not seeing any obvious flaws in her appearance for her mother to harp on, makes her way down the stairs and to the front door. One of the babies is already crying.

“Betty!” Polly greets enthusiastically, coming in for a hug. Betty reluctantly embraces her sister. 

Things between Betty and Polly have been strained since Polly got pregnant at twenty and dropped out of her not-really-successful career as a model. She didn’t know who the father was, didn’t even have any good guesses. Betty had never judged her sister for the pregnancy, or the fact that she didn’t know who the father was. Rather, the fact that Polly had joined a real, actual cult, was the main problem. Well, that and the fact that Polly had sold an untrue story about her to the press based off of s couple empty pill bottles at the bequest of the cult. The Farm, as they called themselves, was built upon crazy devotion and lack of pharmaceuticals, so when Polly had discovered Betty was taking Adderall, she had run to the papers immediately to please her fellow Farmers. Polly’s fiancé, Rob, was also a devout member of The Farm and Juniper and Dagwood, Betty’s niece and nephew, were the youngest Farmies to date. The whole place was creepy and messed up and Betty wanted nothing to do with it.

On the other side of the spectrum, Charles, Betty’s half-brother, was an FBI agent. He had never told them what exactly it was that he did, but it wasn’t a question Betty was going to ask. His wife, Jennifer, was a lovely woman, and Betty actually really liked her. She didn’t really know either of them that well, though. 

“Betty,” Rob greets, cold as usual. 

“Rob,” Betty’s greeting could freeze boiling water.

“I’m so excited for all of us to be together for Christmas!” Betty’s mom announces.

“Me too, Mom,” Polly agrees, just to please her. 

“When do Charles and Jen arrive?” Betty asks.

Alice looks at her watch, “in just about an hour.” 

Betty nods and shoots a quick text to Jughead, telling him that Polly has arrived with her family. She doesn’t get an immediate answer, so she hits the power button and stashes her phone in the back pocket of her jeans. 

“That’s not one of your co-stars is it?” her mom asks.

Betty sighs, “yes, it is.”

Polly frowns, “I really wish you would quit that business. You know it does nothing but fill young children’s heads with garbage.”

Betty resists the urge to pull some of her hair out, “ _ Sweetwater _ isn’t really a children’s movie, Pol.” 

“Still. How will my children react when I tell them their aunt acted in a movie where she actually pole danced?” Polly shakes her head. 

Betty raises a brow cooly, “I expect the same way you’ll tell them about your history doing that and it not being an act.” 

“I’ve made my mistakes,” Polly brushes her off.

“Girls, please. Can’t we all just be a happy family for Christmas?”   
“We haven’t been a happy family since dad left,” Polly bites back.

Betty screams internally.

A painstakingly long sixty minutes later, the doorbell rings again. Betty springs from her place on the couch, where she had been attempting to remain civil with her sister, and rushes to the door. 

“Charles! Jen! I’m so glad you could make it,” Betty greets without any trace of insincerity upon opening the door.    
“Betty,” Jen greets, “It’s nice to see you. Charles and I watched your movie back in New York. You did a wonderful job.”

“Thanks for watching it! I’m glad you liked it!” 

“I couldn’t believe it. My little sister, playing a teen detective.”

“Yes, well, we all were shocked by that,” comes her mother’s voice from behind her. 

“No one more than me,” Betty jokes, “but I’m having the time of my life playing Lane.”

Polly rolls her eyes, “of course you are.”

“Thank you so much for inviting us, Alice,” Jen interjects.

“It’s my pleasure, truly. I couldn’t be more excited for all of us to spend Christmas together. If you want to get settled in, Betty will show you to your room. Dinner will be in about twenty minutes.”

“Sounds great, mom,” Charles smiles.

Betty leads her half-brother up the steps to his room. He’s not familiar with the house because he had grown up with his dad, Betty’s mom’s former Vegas husband. The two had gotten divorced before Charles’ birth, and the two of them decided that George was in the better position to support a child. He married again two years later, so Charles had grown up with a stepmother and visited his real mom every summer for two weeks while they rented a house on Lake Michigan. For most of her childhood, Charles was a distant figure. Someone she knew and cared for, but not a permanent figure in her life. 

In recent years, that relationship hadn’t changed much. She was very fond of her brother still, but there was that same distance there had been when they were children. For his part, Charles was never jealous of the fact that Betty and Polly here up with both their birth parents, though he had never liked Hal. And when Hal had left when Betty was seventeen, Charles had flown out and supported them. That was the first time she met Jen. 

They’re a good couple, they obviously love each other, but they aren’t super obvious about it. Polly and Rob are sickening, always declaring their love for one another, constantly flashing their engagement ring and speaking to anyone who will listen about their impending wedding. Charles and Jen are much more lowkey and grounded. She imagined that her future with Jughead might look something like her brother’s relationship. 

As if summoned by her thinking of him, her phone rings, displaying his name, “you guys are good, right?” Betty asks.

“We’re fine, Betty. Take your call,” Charles encourages her.

“Hey,” Betty greets enthusiastically , going into her room next door and closing the door for privacy.

“It’s nice to hear your voice.”

“Yours, too. I’ve missed you,” she tells him, laying on her bed.

On the other end of the line, Jughead sighs, “we should have pulled a Choni and just gone to the Caribbean.”

“You hate being hot.”

“I’m in L.A. right now, aren’t I?”

“You also hate the beach.”

“That’s not the point!”

She giggles, “I know. But this way you get to spend some time with JB and I can see Charles.”

“And Polly.”

She groans, “it’s already bad and we’re only like an hour and a half in, Jug. She’s all on about my acting and how I need to join her creepy cult to ‘achieve satisfaction’.”

“The war over here is more of a Cold War. I keep trying to prove to my dad that my mom is trying to steal my money and she keeps thwarting me. Part of me thinks he just doesn’t want to see it.” 

“I’m so sorry Jug. I know a place where we can stay for the holidays if you want. And it’ll be cold and devoid of beaches, but with plenty of snow,” she offers.

“As incredible as that sounds, you were right when you said I should spend some time with JB. I love you for suggesting it, though.”

She laughs, “when am I not right? But I can come over tomorrow, or we could go out, if that’s something you’d like to do?” 

“JB and I were going to go hiking, but you could come with us,” he offers. 

“I wouldn’t want to impose on your sibling time.”

“You wouldn’t be imposing at all, in fact I’m pretty sure JB likes you more than me.” 

“Still, my presence would complicate things. I’ll see you Christmas Eve anyway. It’s only four days away.” 

“Your mom is allowing it?”

“I haven’t told her about it yet,” Betty admits, “but it’s not like she can stop me. I’m an adult and can do what I want. And if she decides to lock me in my room like she did when I was younger, you’re going to break me out using the ladder we keep stored in our tool shed.”

“Won’t your mom notice a ladder propped up next to your balcony?”

She frowns, “probably. I suppose I’ll have to go out the window then. It’s on the side of the house and there aren’t any windows below it, so that’s safer.”

“You’re an enigma, Cooper. Climbing out a window just to spend Christmas Eve with my family.”

“That’s the plan. Of course, I’m going to try the traditional way first.”

“Good. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“I’d bet the film company wants the same thing,” she jokes, “plus, you’d catch me if I fell.”

“You bet I would,” he whispers, voice full of emotion.

There’s two sharp knocks on the door and it opens, “I miss you so much,” she says, then looks up to see Jen.

“I miss you too,” he replies.

“Sorry to interrupt but dinner’s ready and your mother has called us,” Jen informs her. 

She nods, showing she understands, “I have to go to dinner now, but I’ll talk to you later. I love you.”

“Love you too, Betts.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

She hangs up the phone and gives Jen a smile, swinging her legs off the bed and stretching. Charles is our in the hall with her, and he looks her up and down.

“Was that, by chance, your boyfriend you were speaking with?” he asks.

She leads the way down the stairs towards the dining room, “it was, actually.” 

“I didn’t know you had a boyfriend,” he says, an air of protectiveness slipping into his voice. 

“We’ve been together a while now, actually,” she informs him. 

“Is it serious?” he asks. 

She wants to laugh at this new, protective older brother side to Charles, but refrains, “yes. I’m going over to his house for Christmas Eve Dinner, actually,” she mentions as they walk into the dining room.

“To whose house?” Polly asks.

Betty bites back a groan, “my boyfriend’s.”

“I didn’t know you had one of those,” Polly remarks delicately, as if she couldn’t imagine anyone ever being interested in Betty.

“Well, it’s the type of thing you like to keep under wraps if you’re me.”

“Ah, yes. Wouldn’t want to mess with all that extra publicity you get from everyone assuming you’re dating that drab of a co-star you have,” Rob speaks up.

“Or perhaps it’s simply because I love this man, more than I do myself, and I don’t want the press to tear into that and twist it around. Perhaps it’s because the less people know, the more special it is,” Betty offers.

“Or you’re an attention seeking drama queen,” Polly snaps.

It takes all her self control to not clench her fists. “I guess I picked the right career, then.”

“Elizabeth! What was that I heard about you going out on Christmas Eve?”

Betty inhales deeply, “just for dinner, mom. I’ll be back before midnight and I won’t leave again until the 27th when I’ll be heading to Maine for the New Year.”

“What’s in Maine?” Jen asks, scooping herself a portion of vegetables and then passing the dish to Charles.

“A friend of mine owns a cabin up there. A vacation home. We’re flying up there together.”

Her mom harrumphs, “Veronica Lodge. The daughter of the convicted Hiram and Hermione Lodge.”

Charles raises a brow at that, “yes, I know of them. Veronica was cleared of any involvement, and actually helped us land her parents in jail. She’s someone you want on your side.”

“Will you be stopping in New York on your way home?” Jen asks.

“Yes, actually. Veronica also owns a property there, so we were going to look in on it, and stay the night before catching our flight back to L.A. the next day.”

“Well If our schedules align, I’m sure we can meet up for lunch,” Charles offers.

“Of course.”

“And what about after your trip? You don’t start filming again until the 15th.”

“Geez, Pol. For someone who thinks all media is evil, you know my filming schedule well.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Mom told me.”

“She’ll be staying here,” her mother says firmly, I have one company interested in hiring you for an easy one day shoot.”

“I do leave to go back to Vancouver on the 13th,” Betty reminds her, annoyed by everyone being so seemingly interested in her life.

She begins diligently eating her dinner as her mother and Polly chat about the evils of acting. She ignores them. At some point, the conversation switches to Polly trying to convert everyone to her crazy cult, which takes up most of the dinner conversation and gives Betty a good excuse to not participate. 

After dinner, Betty helps her mother clear the table and wash the dishes. She doesn’t say anything more about Christmas Eve, but Betty suspects she hasn’t heard the end of it. Hopefully her mother understands by now that this is something Betty is going to do with her permission or not, and that she should just let her go without a fight. Sometimes, Betty wonders why her mother seems to object so fiercely to her decisions, and part of her thinks it’s because she’s the favorite child. Her mother never really knew Charles that well, and Polly was something of a failure, what with the pregnancy and joining a cult. Alice seemed to want Betty to be the perfect version of herself, an Alice Cooper 2.0. 

As far as cleaning went, she had achieved that goal. Betty gave an internal laugh at the way they had lined up the dishes on their respective sides of the sink in the same order on the drying rack. 

“I’m going to head up, mom.”

“It’s not even that late!”

“I know, but I’m kind of tired and I promised to bring Charles and Jen and maybe Polly and Rob, if you watch the twins, out to see the city.”

“Alright, sweetheart. Don’t forget to do your before bed routine.”

“I never do, mom. I never do.”

Betty climbs the stairs with weary feet. She hasn’t left the house all day and it hadn’t even been a full day with her sister, but she was exhausted. As she passes by Charles and Jen’s room, she can hear a quiet murmur of conversation. They had retired to bed early to get unpacked and shower after their journey. She enters her room and collapses on the chair in front of her vanity, intending to take off her necklace and comb through her hair. Before she can do that, though, there are two sharp raps on her window. She turns towards the sound automatically and sees the grind face of her boyfriend. Glancing around her room incredulously, she goes to open the window. 

“Hey there, Juliet,” he greets with a grin. 

She can’t help the smile that splits her face as she steps back to allow him space to climb through. “Romeo,” she acknowledges. 

“I had to see you,” he confesses, “is it pathetic that I can’t even go three days without seeing you?”

She shakes her head, “if it is, you’re in good company. These past few days have been horrible.”

She’s not quite sure when exactly he became the most important person in her life, probably around this time last year, but she knows for a fact that she loves him. Loves him completely and wholly, in a way she’s never felt about anyone else before and she can’t imagine ever feeling again. Part of her wants to run away to Vegas and get married to him tonight, stake her claim on him for the world to see. The more rational part of her brain tells her they have forever and there’s no need. Either way, she wants her little piece of forever to be spent with him. 

“What are you thinking about?” he asks.

“You,” she answers honestly.

His hand reaches up and caresses his face, “what specifically.”

“I want to marry you,” she blurts out.

“Me, too.”

“But not right now,” she clarifies.

He laughs, “I figured.”

“Good.”

“Does this mean we’re engaged?” he jokes.

An idea occurs to her, and she runs to the dresser, pulling out a fairly simple band, “it means we have an understanding.”

He watches her.

“Here,” she offers, “it probably won’t fit on anything but your pinky finger, but it’s yours.”

He takes it from her, “to an understanding,” he says, and slips it on his finger.

“To an understanding,” she echoes softly, and reaches up to kiss him. 

The kiss quickly deepens and soon she’s on top of her vanity, his body pressed so close to hers that there’s virtually no part of her that’s not touching him, but it’s still not enough. He claws at her shirt and she helps him to pull it off. Their lips reconnect for a moment before she yanks on his too. It goes up and over his head, and gets discarded on her floor. 

There’s a loud knock at the door. “Oh my god,” she whispers.

“Is that your _ mom _ ?” he asks, voice barely above a breath.

“Who else would it be?” She gestures frantically to the bathroom, intending for him to hide in there, and quickly throws off her shorts, grabbing a towel from her hamper and tying her hair quickly up. She closes the curtains and blinds so her mom won’t see the ladder then throws on her robe and opens the door.

“What’s up, mom?” 

“You know how I feel about locked doors, Elizabeth.”

“You like doing the locking,” Betty points out.

“Is there someone here with you Elizabeth?” her mother asks, ignoring her.

“No. Why would there be?”

“I thought I heard voices.”

“I was on the phone with Kevin after my shower.”

“And the bang?”

“I dropped my phone.”

“Is that Jughead’s shirt?”

“Yes mom, I sleep in them. You already knew that.” 

She goes over and smells it, “it smells fresh.”

“Geez, mom. What is this, the inquisition? I was with him only three days ago. Of course it still smells like him. That’s the point of stealing his shirts. Would you like to check the closet, too?”

“I think I will,” she resolves.

Betty rolls her eyes, but lets her mom check the closet. She sees no one there.

“And I think I’ll check the bathroom too.”

Betty’s eyes widen in fear, but she can’t think of any excuses. 

She fights to keep her voice even, “I am twenty-two now, you know. I’m not a teenager anymore, mom, and frankly this is uncalled for. Polly’s only a year older than me and she’s engaged and has two kids. And she doesn’t even know who the father is! So I want to know why you don’t seem to trust me but do her.”

“Polly has a future with Rob. What do you have with Jughead?”

“I  _ love _ Jughead! I have more of a future with him right now than with this family!” Betty argues, exasperated. 

“I know you think you love him, but what about when you’re done filming this movie series? Then what?” 

“I don’t think I love him, mom. I do love him. It’s only out of respect for you that I’m here at all. And I was going to wait to tell you this, but we’re going to get an L.A. place together.”

“Is that really a wise decision, Elizabeth?”

“It’s not your decision to make mom, wise or not. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to bed.”

“Fine.”

She waits about two minutes before locking the door again and tiptoeing to the bathroom. Jughead sees her and steps out of the shower, where he’d been hiding. Betty has to muffle a laugh at the hilarity of the situation. He looks far graver. She wraps her arms around his neck.

“Come on,” she whispers, “you have to admit that was pretty funny.”

He gives her a wry look, “what part? The part where your mother almost caught us? Or the part where she said she didn’t think I was serious about you?”

Betty sighs, “how many times do I have to tell you? I. Don’t. Care. I have no regard for anything my mother says about you. I love you, Jughead Jones.”

“I know. I love you, too. I just don’t want you to fall out with your mother for me.”

“Trust me, if we fall out it will be her doing. Plus, your parents approve of me, or at least your dad does, so we made it halfway. And my mom will come around. I just think she needs to see more of you, the real you, not the media’s portrayal of you. Now, let’s go to bed.”

“Your wish is my command,” he whispers, lips touching her ear.

She suppresses a squeal and drags him by the hand back out into the room. She lets him untie the sash that’s holding her robe closed, and shrugs it off. For his own part, he kicks off his jeans as she turns to have him unclasp her bra. He does so quickly, practiced at the action now, and she lets it fall to the floor, picking up his shirt in its place. She runs her hand through his hair the moment the shirt is situated, pulling his lips to hers. They separate before things go too far, and make their way onto her bed. 

“Why don’t we do this every night?” she asks him.

“Um, because it involves one of us climbing a ladder on both ends of the equation.”

“I know. It was more of a rhetorical question, Juggie.”

“Plus, it wasn’t exactly easy for me to sneak out either. I took my motorcycle, so I wheeled it away before starting it, but you don’t have that luxury and I’m not even sure I managed to pull it off.”

“I know,” her hand is in his hair again, “but let’s enjoy it while it lasts, yeah?”

“I think I could be okay with that.” 

~*~

Christmas Eve dawns sunny, as most days tend to do in L.A.. Betty is up with the dawn, too, so she should know. There’s a lot to be done before heading over to the Jones’. Namely, she has to finish buying gifts and she has to wrap the ones she already has. She makes her way to the kitchen quietly, so as not to wake anyone, especially the babies or her mother. She’s shocked to find Charles at the table when she gets there.

“Morning,” he greets, “you’re up early.”

“I could say the same for you.”

“I’m always up this early. You must have some sort of plans.”

“As a matter of fact, I need to do some really last minute Christmas shopping. We’ve been so busy these past few days that I hadn’t got the chance to browse Amazon like I hoped.”

“Who are you buying for?”

She sighs, “Gladys Jones, my boyfriend’s mother.”

He raises a brow, “so you really are dating him?”

She glances around, “yes, but it’s very hush hush. Polly CANNOT know.”

“Don’t worry, I know how to keep secrets. In fact, why don’t I keep you company while you shop? You don’t know what the stores may look like today.”

“Either packed or completely empty,” she admits, “and that’s if anywhere is open on Christmas Eve, not to mention if they’re open this early.”

“We’ll start at the mall then,” he offers.

She tenses, “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”

He nods understandingly, “paparazzi.”

“I’d like to think they’d take the holiday off, but you never know. Plus, aren’t you supposed to keep a low profile?”

“Yes. But people also know you have an older half-brother. Not to mention, anyone we see will be far more interested in you than me, and like you said, it’s Christmas. Hopefully they’ll have taken a break.”

“Hopefully.”

~*~

They get home a little after lunch and have to deal with their mother’s fit about them being gone all morning. Neither of them care too much, still laughing at the look the singular paparazzi had given them. He had obviously been dedicated, given he was out on Christmas Eve, so Betty gave him props for that. Luckily, he wouldn’t run too big a story as she had gone to the trouble to put on some light makeup and a cute outfit before heading out. Charles, on the other hand, had simply been wearing a hoodie and jeans, far more casual than his usual attire. The poor lone paparazzi had hidden behind a small potted plant the moment he had seen them, snapping away with a look of pure awe. He was obviously new in the business. Charles had found both the man’s facial expression and the not very effective hiding place infinitely amusing, so Betty had as well. 

They go up to change to placate their mother now, though, figuring they’ve pushed their luck enough for one day. Betty picks a simple but nice dress, figuring it will be acceptable for both her mother and her dinner later tonight. Before she puts on the dress, though, she finishes up wrapping her presents, not wanting to have to do that while wearing a nice dress. 

Once she’s done wrapping, she jumps in the shower, neglecting to have done so earlier in the day. Once she’s out of the shower, she slips on the dress and begins the process of curling her hair lightly. It’s not something she does a lot, but she wants to look nice for her dinner with Jughead’s family. JB already loves her, and FP is pretty fond of her too, but Gladys isn’t her biggest fan. Not that Jughead is particularly caring of his mom’s opinion, but Betty would still rather she liked her, after all, even if she was only around for the money, she was still Jughead’s mother. 

A sharp knock at the door startled Betty and she nearly drops the curling iron, “Come in!” She yells.

Polly opens the door, “hey.”

“Hey,” Betty returns, slightly suspicious. 

“I was just going to ask if you needed help.”

Her suspicions are further raised, “why?”

“Because you’re my little sister and that’s kind of my job as the older sister?”

There’s no way this isn’t a trap of some sort, “why not?” Betty hands over the curling iron and hopes she’s not making a huge mistake.

Polly works quietly on her hair for a while, before starting in, “so you really have a boyfriend?”

“Yes. Is that so surprising?”

“I guess not, after all, I’m engaged. Who is he?”

There it is. Polly is likely looking for a story to sell to the press. The last time Betty had confided in her sister, that was what had happened, so she was loath to do it again, “honestly, Pol, I’m not sure why you care. You made it pretty clear to me that you thought I was just fooling around and trying to get press.”

“I guess I’m just wondering why you didn’t tell me. We used to tell each other everything,” Polly reminisces.

“We did. But we’re not the same people anymore. After last time, Polly, I can’t do that again. You telling the papers about how I was addicted to Adderall broke me. People wouldn’t stop following me around. I had to go to therapy to deal with the anxiety caused by simply going to a restaurant. And you know what the worst part was? It wasn’t even that I wasn’t actually addicted, it was that my only sister was the one who had caused all of that. And to what end, Polly? To satisfy The Farm? For yourself?”

“I’m sorry, Betty. I was worried about you.”

“And you thought going to the press was going to  _ help _ me?”

“I didn’t realize how drastic the effects were going to be. I just wanted mom to be on my side for once.”

“She was the one who thought I might need it in the first place, you know. She also picks up all my prescriptions for me, even still. She is my manager. She would be yours, if you hadn’t dropped out of modeling in favour of the farm.”

“I had no choice, Betty. I have two kids now. I’m a grown woman.”

Betty sighs, “I love you, Polly. You must know that. But you’ve also hurt me. You continue to hurt me. I know I’m not blameless, and that our verbal spars are most certainly two way phenomenon, but until we’re ready to fix things, really fix things, I think it’s best that we continue to keep some distance between us.”

“I understand.”

“Okay,” Betty ends the conversation. 

Polly finishes doing her hair, which is promising, then leaves. Betty does her own makeup, going for a natural look. Makeup is something she actually enjoys doing, though she doesn’t do her own for any large occasions, modeling, or the movie. It’s not like she’s not good at it, rather the opposite in fact. Without sounding vain, she would say she was actually skilled with the art of makeup. Her only problem is that she isn’t very fast with it. She’s something of a perfectionist in everything she does, so she takes her time to make sure her makeup is perfect. 

She does her best to sneak down the stairs, but evidently her mother hears her as she comes scrambling into the front hall. Betty fights down the sigh that climbs so desperately up her throat at the sight. 

“I was just about to leave,” she informs her mother, leaving no room for discussion on the matter.

“I need some photos first. I have the whole thing set up, it won’t take more than ten minutes.”

“Ten minutes! Mom!”

“Come on, Elizabeth. I’ve taken a photo of you on Christmas Eve since you were born. This is non-negotiable.”

“Fine.”

It does not take ten minutes. It’s a lot closer to thirty minutes, in fact, by the time Alice Cooper has taken enough photos to satisfy her. The moment she sets down the camera, Betty practically sprints out the door and into her car. The drive to Jughead’s house doesn’t take too long, and it’s actually peaceful with the radio playing low in the background. Still, she’s impatient the whole way, wishing she could just be there already. 

She parks her car in the driveway and walks up to the house, toting a bouquet of flowers and a cranberry pie. Luckily, Jughead seems to have been waiting for her at the door, as she doesn’t even have to knock before the door opens and he is ushering her inside. FP is not far behind his son and greets her happily, taking the flowers and pie from her and setting them on a side table. 

“Merry Christmas, Mr. Jones,” she smiles widely and hugs him.

“Thank you Betty!” his voice is cheerful, “it’s nice to see you again.”

“And you as well,” she returns, slipping under Jughead’s arm. Jughead smiles briefly at her, though the gesture is strained, likely because of the prolonged time with his mother. He presses a kiss to her hair as Jellybean descends the stairs.

“Betty!” JB exclaims, taking the steps two at a time in her hurry, “I’ve missed you!”

Betty shrugs out of Jughead’s embrace and steps forward to hug JB, “if it isn’t my favorite teenager!” 

“Jughead’s been keeping you all to himself up there in Vancouver.”

“Well you’re welcome to visit any time. We’d be glad to have you.”

FP smiles, “that’s a kind offer, Betty.”

“But one that she will unfortunately have to refuse,” comes the voice of Gladys Jones, “as she has school.”

Jellybean’s smiles falls at that, and FP steps in, “the next long weekend, perhaps?” He offers up. 

Before his mother can speak, Jughead pipes up, “we’ll have a room ready for you.”

Betty swoops into the conversation as well, stepping forward with a hand extended, “it's so lovely to see you again Mrs. Jones.”

Gladys ignores her completely, instead grabbing the flowers Betty had brought and leaving the room. Betty, ever the actress, smiles brightly and turns back to Jughead. He looks ready to fight his mother, so Betty laces their fingers together and shakes her head lightly. 

“Shall we go in?” she asks, “no need to linger out here in the hall for my sake.”

FP leads the way wordlessly to the dining room, where Gladys is arranging the flowers in a vase, “everything needs to look nice for Sammy,” Gladys intones lightly. 

Betty looks to Jughead, “who’s Sammy?”

It’s JB who answers, “my boyfriend, Samuel. But I didn’t invite him…”

Betty nods, recalling a phone call where JB had mentioned him.

“I invited him,” Gladys says, nonchalantly. 

Jughead’s eyes go wide, “no. No. JB has only been dating him a month. Even she said she wasn’t sure we could trust him with any of my secrets. Least of all Betty. I will not put my relationship on blast on the media because you wanted to be petty, mother.”

Betty caresses his face, “Juggie, it’s fine. I can just leave.”

“No, I don’t want you to do that. I’d rather have you hear now. If the press find out, I guess we can just deal with it. They already suspect anyway. What’s confirming their suspicions?”

“A lot of it’s not something you’re comfortable with. That being said, I may have an idea. Let me make a call,” Betty reassures him. 

Twenty minutes later when the doorbell rings, Jughead and Betty are snuggled together on the couch. “Have I told you recently how incredible you are?” Jughead’s asks.

“Yes, but I don’t mind hearing it again,” she laughs and pecks his lips.

“So I don’t know if my mom made this clear when she invited you, but my brother is in town and he’ll be at dinner so you’re going to need to sign an NDA,” Betty hears JB telling her boyfriend. 

“What?” he asks, “I met him briefly earlier this week and that was fine.”

Betty can almost hear the shrug in her voice, “well you barely got passed a hello. This will be a whole dinner. It’s not a huge deal. Just in case something comes up that’s not public information, you legally cannot say anything. Not that I think you would, but apparently movie people are strict about these kinds of things.”

“Strict enough to make me sign an NDA for  _ dinner _ ?” the unfamiliar voice sounds incredulous. 

FP jumps in on the conversation, “it’s really just a precaution. I’m sure dinner won’t even really be that eventful.”

“Whatever,” JB’s boyfriend sounds resigned.

JB claps her hands, “great! Now I can give you a tour of the place!”

“You weren’t allowed to do that before?”

“Nope. Look, that picture of Jughead and me down that hallway right there, that’s from when I visited him on set last year! I mean, the movie already came out, so I don’t see why you couldn’t see that before, but whatever. Come on, I’ll show you the upstairs before dinner is ready.”

Betty turn to Jughead, a genuine smile bracing her lips, “see? It didn’t turn out so bad.”

“Only because you are a quick thinker. How did you even get someone to write up those NDAs so fast and to send them over on Christmas Eve?”

“I know people.”

“You’re a marvel.”

She grins, “I try my best.”

“I love you.”

“And I love you.”

They revel in the silence for a bit, simply enjoying each other’s company and the moment of peace. 

From the kitchen, a timer rings off, “that must mean our dinner is ready,” Jughead groans, “ready for my mother?”

Betty bites at her lip briefly, “I’m fine, Juggie. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“Uh, yeah, I’m pretty sure I do. Especially when my mother is involved. Don’t think I forgot what she did to you earlier, because I didn’t.”

Betty sighs, “I feared that was the case. I really don’t mind that much.”

“Except you do. You don’t need to pretend it doesn’t bother you. At least, not with me. Your mom may be scary, but she at least treats me civilly when she knows I’m there. And at the end of the day, she supports you. My mom’s not like that,” Jughead goes on a brief rant.

She takes his face in her hands, “believe me when I say that I’m willing to deal with Gladys Jones a thousand times over if it means I get to spend Christmas Eve with you.”

“Okay.”

She looks him dead in the eyes, “hm?”

He relents, “okay.”

“That’s better. Now come on, I heard there was going to be a Christmas ham and I know that’s something you don’t want to miss.”

“You know me too well.”

“Perhaps. Or perhaps not,” she tells him as she pulls him into the dining room by the hand.

“There isn’t anything about me I wouldn’t share with you,” Jughead whispers lowly in her ear and she fights off a shiver. 

As a distraction, she turns to Gladys who has just come in to the dining room holding plates of food, “do you need any help?”

Gladys simply glares at her, but it isn’t a no, so Betty follows her back into the kitchen, tossing a smile over her shoulder at Jughead. There is a lot of food in the kitchen. Gladys must have been cooking all day, which Betty can’t really picture. She’s not quite sure what to pick up, so she kind of stands there awkwardly as Gladys fusses with the ham. 

Gladys turns back to her, nearly angry, “well are you going to help or not?”

“What would you like me to do?” Betty asks.

“Take out the rolls and cranberry sauce.”

Betty locates the dishes that hold the aforementioned items, and picks them up. Gladys leads the way back to the dining room. In the room is a boy Betty recognizes vaguely from a couple of JB’s Instagram posts. She sets the dishes she is carrying down on the table and then looks towards the unfamiliar person in the room. He had sharp facial features, except his nose, which was just a little too wide for the rest of his face. His hair was scraggly, as if he hadn’t even attempted to comb through it. Or maybe he had and that had been the work of JB - something Betty definitely didn’t want to think about.

“And this is my brother’s girlfriend, Betty,” JB tells the boy, “I believe you met Jughead briefly already earlier this week, right?”

Samuel nods, “yes I did. It’s nice to meet you, Betty.”

“Likewise.”

JB doesn’t bother to introduce Samuel to her, they’ve already discussed him over the phone and just earlier tonight. 

Gladys comes in with the ham and everyone takes a seat. At first, everyone is silent. Only the rare “pass the rolls,” or “could I please have some ham?” break the silence as everyone served themselves. Perhaps it is the combined presence of Gladys and Samuel, but the air almost seems stifling. 

“So how has your break been, Betty?” FP breaches the silence.

“Not quote as relaxing as I hoped. My brother and sister and their families are staying with us, so it’s been kind of hectic. I am looking forward to New Years at Veronica’s cabin, though.”

“Me too,” Jughead smiles at her.

“Do you  _ ever _ get sick of each other’s company?” JB gripes.

“Nope.”

“Nope.”

“I mean, I can understand wanting to be around Betty all the time, but Jughead? Sorry, Betty, but you have poor judgement.”

Betty laughs, “I happen to quite enjoy spending time with your brother.”

“And what a blessing that is,” FP grins, “the one time my boy has some sound judgment.”

“And there is no need to go into baby stories, Dad.”

Betty feels the gleam in her eyes, “oh, yes. Yes there is.”

“No. And that’s final,” Jughead glares.

_ Later _ , FP mouths over Jughead’s head.

“And what about you, Samuel? How has your time off school been?” Betty tries to include him.

He looks around, as if she was asking someone else, “oh! Um, it’s been good. My family is Jewish, so we celebrate Hanukkah, so it’s been a lot of days just at home.”

“Very cool.” 

“I actually went to his family’s house for the second to last night,” JB tells Betty.

“Fun!” Betty smiles over at the young couple. 

“How is the cabin trip coming along?” FP asks.

“Decently. Betty and Veronica are flying out in the morning. Archie has to wait until the afternoon, when his mom was flying out, so I’ll be going with him. It’s better that way anyway. If Betty and I went to the airport together there would be all sorts of rumors.” 

“Why hide it at all?” Samuel questions.

“We don’t want to be hounded with press, and don’t want people poking their noses in our business.”

“Oh, yes. We all know about your experience with the press, Betty,” Gladys snarls at her.

“Mom! I’ve told you a million times, those stories were all lies concocted by Betty’s jealous sister. She never abused Adderall and her prescription history proved that. She never refilled the prescription early, and several people testified that she never presented symptoms of being an Adderall addict. Her sister even retracted the statement three months later, saying she made it all up.” 

Betty rests a hand on Jughead’s knee, stopping his rant, “I’m sorry you feel that way, Mrs. Jones. I love your son and I hope that we can work out our differences.”

“Please,” she scoffs, “you two met each other on a movie. Once the movie is done, do you really still think you’ll last?”

“You met dad while you were stripping at a strip club and went home with him because you thought he was cute,” Jughead defends.

“Can’t we all just enjoy a nice dinner?” JB asks, a little hopeless. 

“A brilliant idea indeed,” FP agrees.

Once dinner is finished, the whole group gathers in the living room for a game of apples to apples. JB insists it’s a Jones tradition, and then proceeds to explain the rules. In the Jones household, apparently, they play the game backwards. Whoever has the most horrible answer to the card is the winner, as determined by the judge. The winner then owes a favor to the judge, which is pre-written on a piece of notebook paper.

What JB does not explain, however, is how intense the game is. The favors are written for everyone to see, so it becomes a game of seeing how well the judge knows the other players. Betty can guess Jughead’s card almost every time, but has less luck with Samuel and Gladys. Not that she would want favors from either of them. 

The game is surprisingly honest, no one revealing which card is theirs. Jughead swears that most of the fun is trying to decide who’s card is whose, so they are careful not to spoil it. She doesn’t quite get the appeal, but she keeps that detail to herself, not wanting to hurt anyone’s feelings.

By the end of the game, Betty owes one favour to both Samuel and FP, two to JB, and four to Jughead. JB ends up winning, which isn’t a real surprise as everyone loves JB. Betty hands over her lipstick and gives JB a hug, as promised. Apparently favors are only owed to the winner, another odd rule. Betty far prefers normal apples to apples, and doesn’t understand why the favour system is fun, but she supposes she would feel differently if that’s how she grew up playing it. 

“I believe I’m owed a favour,” Jughead teases cheekily. 

“I don’t remember you winning,” Betty responds in kind, but kisses him anyway. 

“Can we do presents now?” JB asks.

“I don’t see why not,” FP agrees.

“I’m afraid I left my presents in the car, so I’ll have to go grab them,” Betty tells the room at large.

“I’ll help you,” JB offers. 

“Thanks.”

The two girls make the way to Betty’s car barefoot. The Jones house is set back a ways from the road and has high shrubbery surrounding it, so the house is private. Betty has never had issues being spotted leaving or entering the place, unlike Veronica. Archie’s house is more centrally located and has neither a long drive or high shrubs. Betty’s house also is more private, and in a community of well-to-do families who don’t tend to ask questions. The neighborhood is additionally gated, and absolutely no paparazzi is allowed. One of the only benefits of living with her mom is receiving that privacy. Veronica herself lives in whichever of her parents' houses she chooses, though she can typically be found in a downtown penthouse. 

“What did you get me?” JB asks excitedly.

Betty laughs, “that package right there.”

JB picks it up excitedly, “oooooh. It’s big!”

Betty laughs. JB’s enthusiasm for, well, everything is endearing. She often seems much younger than seventeen.

“What did you get for Jughead?” 

“You’re going to see.”

“I see his name,” JB says, picking up the present, “geez, Betty, this thing weighs a ton. What did you do, buy him a slab of concrete?” 

“I said you’d see, JB,” Betty teases gently, “now come on.”

“All of these weigh so much,” JB complains, hoisting both her and Jughead’s gifts out of the car. 

“I know. I had to load them in earlier this morning. I never would have been able to escape otherwise.”

“I was surprised you were early.”

“I know. I hate being early, I think its discourteous, but I allowed myself more time to make my exit than I ended up needing.”

“It’s not like any of us were going to complain.”

“Your mother.”

“Fair enough. Honestly I think she only objects to you because she knows Jughead will choose you over her.” 

Betty is suddenly uncomfortable, “has he told you why that is?”

JB raises her brows, “what?”

Betty takes JB’s surprise to mean that he has not, in fact, told her. “I’ll take that as a no. He had said he was planning on doing it over the holiday.”

“He hasn’t said anything.”

“Who hasn’t said anything about what?” Jughead asks.

“Just some girl talk,” Betty lies smoothly, not wanting to be the cause of any more tension than she already is.

“ I can tell when you’re lying to me you know,” Jughead laughs, bopping her on the nose and swiftly taking the presents from her hands, “but I’ll assume it’s Christmas related just this once.”

“We all have our secrets, Juggie,” Betty tells him aloud.  _ Not here _ , she mouths to him. 

He nods his understanding and promptly drops the subject, “everyone ready for presents?” Jughead asks.

“I’m afraid I didn’t buy anything for you, Samuel, as I didn’t know you were coming.”

“It’s cool.” 

“Can I open mine from you, Betty?” JB asks.

“Go for it.”

JB slips her fingers under the crease in the paper swiftly, lifting off the tape while still doing a surprisingly small amount of damage to the paper itself. She then flips the present over and pull the wrapping completely off, revealing a makeup palette. At first, her glance is confused, and then she recognizes the model on the cover. She nearly drops the palette in shock.

“YOU’RE MAKING A MAKEUP LINE?!?”

Betty laughs, “I already did, actually. It will come out officially in just about a month, but we are making the official announcement January 2nd. I was hoping you would want to be one of my promoters.”

“Are you kidding? Of course. Designer makeup before it’s even released and a chance to brag about it all over my social media? Why wouldn’t I want that?”

Betty grins, “that’s what I thought. There’s more in that box, brushes and all kinds of other blenders and foundations and such. I picked out the ones most similar to your skin tone. If they don’t match, though, let me know and I can get them exchanged for you.”

“Thanks Betty! This is so cool!” 

They go around and all take turns exchanging gifts. Gladys seems to at least kind of like the Burberry scarf Betty had bought on a whim that morning. Even though it never got too cold in L.A., one could always use a scarf. FP had been tricky to buy something for, but she had eventually decided on Prada sunglasses. Jughead had assured her he would like them. In turn, Betty had received an umbrella, an expensive-looking candle, and a painting from JB. Betty was shocked at the thoughtfulness of the gift, she had admired that particular painting almost six months previous when she had brought JB out shopping for the day.

At last, only Jughead’s gift remained to be given. Betty was a little nervous about it, though she wasn’t quite sure why. She wasn’t worried that he wouldn’t like it, more that it wouldn’t be exactly what he had wanted. Maybe he had been giving her hints and she had missed them. Maybe he would hate it. Okay, that was unlikely.

“Geez, it’s heavy,” he comments as he picks it up.

“I know!” JB exclaims.

He tears carefully into the paper, meticulous in his unwrapping. Finally, the gift is revealed, “Betts,” he gasps, “how did you find this?”

She grins, looking down at the vintage typewriter, “I have my ways.” 

He runs a hand gently across it, “this is  _ old _ .”

“I know.”

“It must have cost a fortune,” he frowns looking up at her.

“Don’t worry about what it cost. The value of a gift is not in the price tag. Do you like it?”

“I love it. I love you.”

She snuggles into him, “love you too,” and presses a fairly chaste kiss to his lips.

“I still have my gift for you, you know,” Jughead’s tells her.

“Yeah?”

“It’s in my room. I’m afraid you’ll have to come with me to get it.”

Jughead tugs her up by the hand and leads the way to the hall and up the stairs, JB and Samuel not too far behind. The Jones house is significantly smaller than Betty’s house, and far less centrally located, but it’s nice in a completely different way. All of the décor seems to mean something, and the photos on the walls are far more candid than any displayed in the Cooper household.

Betty laughs giddily, completely happy, as Jughead pulls her into his room, “what is this present?”

Jughead goes to his dresser and picks up a small package. “Open it, and you’ll see.”

Betty carefully lifts the paper from the little package to reveal a small box. Nestled inside the paper is a gorgeous ring. Betty looks up to Jughead, eyes a little disbelieving.

“I promise, I got it for you before our conversation the other night. I had Veronica steal your favorite ring while we were in Vancouver so I knew it would fit.”

Betty’s slaps his arm lightly, “you jerk. I looked for that ring for hours.” She doesn’t mean it, though, and kisses him soundly to show him she isn’t actually upset.

“Do you like it?” He asks nervously when they break apart.

“I love it, Juggie. I love you.”

“And I love you.”

Their lips meet once more, but before anything can get too far, there are two sharp knocks on the door. 

Jellybean flings the door open unceremoniously, “mom sent me to tell you dessert is ready.”

Jughead turns toward her, clearly upset at being interrupted, “thanks for the heads up.”

“Also, I’d probably wipe off that lipstick,” JB laughs. Betty had reapplied before they had started playing games, and judging by the state of Jughead’s lips, she’d have to do it again.

Betty can’t help the giggle that escapes as she lovingly wipes at the stain with her finger, pulling his lip down a little as she does so. He fixes her with an unamused look, but his eyes are still sparkling. “We’ll be right down,” Betty assures the younger girl.

JB grins and takes Sam’s hand and pulls him with her as she heads down the hall. 

“They really are in love, aren’t they?” Betty can hear Sam ask JB quietly.

“Yeah,” JB sighs, the sound laced with both an amorous and sad tone.

~*~

Dessert passes quickly and Betty departs fairly promptly after it’s over, not wanting to outstay her welcome. She’ll have Jughead to herself in the not so distant future. The drive back to her house is oddly refreshing; there’s a distinct lack of other cars on the road and she is struck by the ridiculous desire to just drive and drive until her car runs out of gas. The solitude and peace this late at night is a wholly welcome feeling. As she looks out into the darkness, she feels wholly content. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not dead! I sincerely apologize for the long wait time and I’d love to say that the next chapter is right around the corner...but I also don’t want to lie. The story is not abandoned though and I promise you will see the end of it if you stick around. I did mean to have this chapter out before season four started, but life got in the way. That being said, RIVERDALE IS BACK! Feel free to chat with me in the comments about the first episode, leave suggestions, or just say hi.

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully the photos showed up? Otherwise here's the link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/YoazoCg975sh2T5y7  
If the link doesn't work, please let me know.
> 
> Also, I'm planning on adding more to this story (unless you guys hate it, so please tell me if you do) but I'm not sure as to when the next update will be.


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